The Long, Winding Road
by Curlscat
Summary: PREVIOUSLY THE NEVER GONNA HAPPEN CHALLENGE. Ups, downs, twists and turns, love and hatred. With a couple of new Everafters running about, wars start and lives end. Life for the Grimm family is NOT how it used to be. Pre-7 epicfic featuring Puckabrina getting together in chapter 112. Ch 1: Now contains a prologue! Ch. 127: The Epilogue. COMPLETE!
1. The Challenge and Prologue

**NEW PROLOGUE:**

Sabrina lay in the cocoon, asleep. Floating through her veins, between her neurons, was the green tint of a fairy poison. She was dying.

And then-

_Snap!_

The cocoon's juices sparked purple, and the spark slipped into her body through her mouth and nose, down through her throat, entering her blood stream and her nervous system. The purple spark coursed through her body, dividing and redividing, spreading and dying out like fire down a line of gunpowder, chasing the poison in front of itself.

As it moved, it left change behind it. Cells warped, shifted, changed shape and color, died, and were reborn, different.

Sabrina Grimm woke two hours later, feeling no different, but inside, her body was transforming itself in ways she couldn't imagine.

* * *

**Original First Chapter:**

So I was riding my horse the other day, and I got an idea for a challenge! (because there aren't enough challenges in this category already) Right after that I lost my mom's cell phone, and had to spend several hours looking for it, but that's besides the point.

Anyhoo, without further ado, here's the challenge:

The Never Gonna Happen Challenge!

Baisically, it's just what it says. Write something that will never happen in the real books. It can be something you want to happen, something someone else thinks will happen that you think is absolutely ridiculous, or something you would die if it actually did happen.

Examples:

1) a really weird pairing, like Daphne and Charming (ick, but I've seen a shipper of that.)

2) Puck joining the Scarlet Hand (I didn't really do that, spoilers.)

3) Sabrina turning into an Everafter (I guess that isn't really a never gonna happen anymore, huh?)

4) Mirror not being the Master (hehehe, I was right, suckers!)


	2. Sabrina on the Ceiling

**AN~ Well, since I issued the challenge, I couldn't exactly not do it, could I?**

**Disclaimer: if I owned the Sisters Grimm, it would be... I'm trying to think up something funny and smart to say here, but it's not working. So yeah, I don't own it.**

* * *

Sabrina Grimm was sitting in her room, writing in her journal when the strangest thing happened. She started floating.

"Granny!" She cried, terrified.

"What is it, _liebling_?" Granny burst into the room, followed by the rest of the family.

"Sabrina!" Daphne screeched. "You're floating!"

"No, Marshmallow, she fell through the floor." Puck said dryly.

"Stop being sarcastic and make me stop!" Sabrina yelled.

Puck shrugged, flew up to where Sabrina was floating near the ceiling, grabbed her arm, and dragged her back to the ground. He let go of her and she started to float upwards again. This happened several times until Puck solved the problem by sitting on Sabrina's lap. Needless to say, she was _not_ pleased.

While he was doing that, Granny quizzed Sabrina in hopes of discovering why she was floating.

"Did you use a magic wand?"

"No."

"Any other magical tools?"

"No."

"Potions?"

"No."

"Spells gone awry?"

"Again, no."

"Have you been out of the house recently?"

"Ow, Puck, that hurt- no."

"Then I think we'd better go ask Mirror for an answer."

"Can we ask him how to fix it, too?"

"Of course."

"Why do you want it to stop?" Daphne asked.

"Because I don't feel like being stuck in the house for the rest of my life."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"If I go outside, I'm going to float off into outer space." Sabrina pointed out.

"Oooh." Daphne said.

"Exactly."

"Couldn't we just tie you to a big rock or something?" Daphne asked.

"Let's see if we can fix it before we start with that." Granny interjected.

Puck let go of Sabrina, and she floated up to the ceiling. After a bit of experimentation, she discovered that she could walk upside-down as naturally as if she was right side up. She enjoyed this, as there were less things to trip over, which she had been doing a lot recently. Granny said she was having a growth spurt. The only problems were that she was afraid she would fall off the ceiling suddenly, and that the doorways kept getting in her way.

The first problem was solved by Puck, who flew under her, poised as if ready to catch her in a moment's notice.

Sabrina decided she could deal with the second problem on her own. She kind of wished she had a pair of roller skates, though.

"Mirror, we have a situation." Granny said.

"And this its...?" Mirror asked.

"Sabrina." Granny replied.

"Where _is_ the starfish?" Mirror asked.

Sabrina, who had been sitting down because she was feeling particularly tired, stood up. "I'm right here, Mirror."

"Gahh!" Mirror said.

"Exactly." Sabina said.

"Mirror, Mirror, can you say, what Sabrina's problem is today?" Daphne asked.

Mirror shuddered. "Your poem is atrocious. But I might be able to tell. Gimme a sec."

The family waited anxiously while Mirror misted over, searching for something.

"Nope, can't help you there." Mirror said.

"Drat." Daphne said. "I want to be able to do it!"

"Mirror, Mirror, who can tell, is Sabrina truly well?" Puck asked.

"Wow." Sabrina said. "That was actually a fairly good poem."

"Of course it was. Anything that comes out of my mouth is amazing and wonderful." Puck said loftily.

"Including that curse word you said yesterday?" Sabrina asked dryly.

Before Granny could get mad at Puck for cursing, Mirror answered. "Baba Yaga can find out for you."

"Thanks!" Sabrina said and began to walk towards the doorway, still upside-down. then she stopped. "Wait- how am I going to get there?"

"Puck?" Granny said.

Puck sighed, but grabbed Sabrina and dragged her off the ceiling and towards the car. It became rather difficult once they got outside, and Puck ended up grabbing Sabrina in a bear hug to force her strangely upward-propelled limbs into the car. It was an extremely embarrassing situation for Sabrina. Once she was safely seat-belted and forcing herself to keep from floating up, they began to drive off. But then they had to stop because Sabrina's hair was blocking up the rear windshield. After that mishap was solved, they began to drive off again.

At Baba Yaga's house, they knocked on the door. The witch opened it, took one look at who was outside, and slammed the door in their faces.

"Please let us in!" Granny called, knocking again.

"No!" The old crone's voice came through the door.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm looking for the right wand to kill you with!"

"But we need your help!"

"And look where that got me last time!"

"Just take a look before you kill us, all right?" Sabrina asked.

"Look at what?" Baba Yaga asked warily, opening the door a crack.

When she saw Sabrina, standing upside-down on the inside of her roof, she got a spark in her eye that none of he Grimms had ever seen before. "Come in, and be quick about it!" She cried.

They obeyed. Baba Yaga began circling Sabrina, commenting occasionally.

"Interesting... she's upside-down, yet her hair and clothes both look as if she's standing right side up."

"Is that bad?" Sabrina asked nervously.

She was ignored by the witch. "No spells or enchantments of any sort, no, that wouldn't make sense, she's touched, there would be signs..."

"We established that already." Daphne said.

Again the comment was ignored. "Let me see..." Baba Yaga went over to a bookshelf, grabbed a book, and began reading from it. After several more circuits around Sabrina, the witch began to laugh. "Oh, this is just too good!"

"What is?" Grany asked.

"It would be the addicted one, of course!" Baba Yaga kept on laughing.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?" Sabrina shouted. Along with her shout came a rumble, and the house shook. That got Baba Yaga's attention.

"Your grandaughter," She told Granny, "Is an everafter."

"NOT FAIR!" Daphne screeched. But then she stuck her palm in her mouth, smiling around it.

"But- there haven't been new everafters since the cow who jumped over the moon!" Granny said, shocked.

"Actually, the cow who jumped over the moon was originally Jack's cow, so there haven't been new everafters since Dorothy became one." Baba Yaga corrected.

"Then- how?" Granny asked.

"I'm actually surprised nothing like this has ever happened before." Baba Yaga said. "You people deal with magical things so much it was bound to happen eventually."

"But it hasn't." Granny pointed out.

"Well, you _do_ have a tendency of dying young, so there may have been a few others." Baba Yaga said. "Has anything purely magical happened to her in the past year or so?" She asked.

"I can talk, you know." Sabrina said.

"Fine. You answer then." Baba Yaga replied.

"You want a list?" Sabina asked.

"Sure."

"Cinderella's fairy godmother's wand, Pied Piper, Lots of encounters with Uncle Jake's stuff, umm... yeah, I'll come back to that, a fairy cocoon-"

"Stop!" Baba Yaga cried.

"You think that's it?" Granny asked.

"It sounds most likely. How long was she in it?"

"Several hours."

"Yes, that was most definitely the reason. Sabrina is now a very rare kind of fairy."

"And that is...?" Sabrina asked impatiently.

"It doesn't have a name. They aren't born fairies, and they all have different abilities. There have only been about ten in the history of the world. Of those, three are still alive. Four, counting you."

"Great." Sabrina said dryly. "I'm an endangered species."

"But how do we get her off the ceiling?" Daphne asked.

"Sabrina, just think about standing the right way up, and you should go back to normal. Your personal gravity seems to have reversed itself."

"OK..." Sabrina concentrated for a minute, and after a few seconds, fell on the floor. "Oof."

"Ouch." Daphne winced in sympathy.

Sabrina glared at Puck. "You followed me around the whole house, but when I actually _do_ fall, you just stand there!"

Puck shrugged. "Sorry."

"She'll probably develop other abilities in time. And they'll be hard to control for a while. I believe that earthquake was her, also."

"Wait- I caused that?" Sabrina smiled slightly.

"That's my assumption." Baba Yaga said. "Do you have any questions?"

"No," Granny said. "I think we can manage."

Daphne looked a little worried. "Puck, you better be nice to her. She can get you back now."

Puck grinned. "I can deal with it. You wouldn't hurt me, would you, Grimm?"

"Wanna bet?" Sabrina asked, then chased him out to the car, laughing.

Daphne followed after more slowly. Granny, on the other hand, stayed behind. "Would you forgive us for the lie?" She asked.

"I suppose I could..." Baba Yaga thought for a minute. "You're going to need help with her."

"You've made a study of unusual everafters, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"And this would be a chance to study one firsthand."

"Yes..."

"Truce, then?"

"Truce." Baba Yaga shook Granny's hand.


	3. Wings

**AN~ I just got this really looooong review from elliegoat, and it convinced me to take a break from Hundred and Cyberspace for a bit. This is not a one-shot series, btw. and in answer to your reviews:**

**Hi: It doesn't have to be ooc, just something that won't happen. And this won't. Isn't it awesome, though?**

**All y'alls who pointed out my spelling mistakes: I went back and fixed 'em. thanks.**

**elliegoat: 1) you'll see, it has to do with her being a natural medium... next chapter! Or not..., 2) Yeah. Good idea! Incorporated into this chapter. 3) Nope, she can't leave! Yay! 4) Thats a good idea. 5) Of course. I was planning on that from the beginning.**

* * *

"Grimm!" Puck stormed down the stairs, - well, the stairway- furious.

"What's wrong, Puck?" Granny asked absently, without looking up.

Daphne snickered. "Puck's stuck to the cieling. Sabrina, can you stick me to it too?"

Sabrina grinned. "Sure. I would've done it earlier, but I wanted to test it on somebody who won't get hurt if he falls off."

"Sabrina." Granny said sternly. "Put Puck right side up."

"But-" Sabrina said.

"Now." Granny said firmly.

"Fine." Sabrina muttered. She glared at Puck for a few seconds, and he fell on the ground.

"Hey!" He cried. "That hurt!"

"That's for the pickle goop on my first day of school."

"And what was the cieling for in the first place?"

"All the little things before that. Like the spider that caused the pickle incident in the first place."

"I'm scared now." Puck said.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Because that's not half the stuff I've done to her, and she's developing more powers."

Red snorted and muttered under her breath, "As if gravity control wasn't enough, she get _more_."

"Someone's jealous." Daphne quipped.

"Sabrina, the payback has to stop. I don't want Puck to be stuck to the cieling all the time." Granny interrupted.

Sabrina pouted. "But you let _him_ do stuff to me! Why can't I do payback?"

"Because Puck has saved your life several times."

"And I can save my own life now." Sabrina muttered.

Red snorted again. "By doing what? Walking on the cieling? Fat lot of good that's gonna do if there's a gun."

"You're in an _awful_ mood this morning." Daphne noted.

Red said nothing. She just glared at Sabrina. Sabrina gave her a bewildered look, shrugged, and went back to buttering her toast, the activity she had been engaged in before Puck stormed downstairs. Puck waited until she was facing away from him, and then quietly snuck up behind her and shoved her back.

"_Ow_!" Sabrina screeched.

"I didn't push you that hard." Puck protested, ignoring Granny's glare.

"I know." Sabrina said.

"Then why'd you scream?" Red was still glaring.

"It _hurt_!" Sabrina said. "Like, a _lot_."

"Does this hurt?" Puck asked, poking Sabrina's shoulder blade.

"Ouch!" Sabrina shot forward in her chair, pulling away from Puck's finger.

"Guess that answers that." Puck muttered, then poked the center of her back. "How about here?"

"No."

"Here?" Puck poked lower on her back.

"Eech!" Sabrina squirmed again.

"Did it hurt?"

"No, just tickled."

"You're strange." Puck shook his head, then went back to poking Sabrina's back. "How about here?"

"_Yes_!"

"Relax. Here?"

"Not as much."

This went on for some time, and they eventually established that two long, thick lines on her shoulder blades were the problem spots. Granny then dragged Sabrina upstairs to look at her back under better light and without other peering eyes watching. What she saw surprised her quite a bit.

"Oh my." She said. "My my my. This is very interesting."

"What is?" Sabrina asked.

"There are two large slits down your shoulder blades, and there appear to be feathers poking out of them..." Granny said.

"Feathers?" Someone asked through the closed door.

Granny went to open the door while Sabrina pulled her shirt back on. Daphne ran in and stopped her before the shirt ws all the way back on.

"Let me see!" She shouted.

Puck and Red followed her in more slowly. Sabrina was _not_ comfortable with Puck seeing her with her shirt half off, but there wasn't much she could do. The three kids proceeded to stare at Sabrina's back.

"But- since when do fairies have feathers on their wings?" Puck asked.

"Is it rare?" Daphne asked.

"Have you ever seen a fairy with bird wings?" Puck asked dryly.

"Well, no, but..." Daphne trailed off.

"I suppose that's one of those things Baba Yaga was talking about." Granny said thoughtfully. "I had probably better tell her about this, she asked me to tell her about any new developments."

"I do _not_ want some freaky old lady staring at my back!" Sabrina said.

"But-" Granny said. "I _did_ tell her she could study you."

"What am I, a textbook?" Sabrina asked. "She can 'study me' after the wings are all the way out. Can I put my shirt back on now? It's cold in here."

"Go ahead." Granny said. "Fine, we can wait for a while, but I'm going to tell her anyway."

Puck got an evil smile on his face, and poked Sabrina in the back again. She jumped up about a foot, and somehow ended up on the cieling again.

"Oops." She said. "Didn't mean to jump that high."

"Can you come down?" Daphne asked. "You're making me dizzy."

"Gimme a minute, I like it up here." Sabrina walked over to the bed, positioned herself so that she would fall on it without hurting herself, and repositioned her personal gravity. She dropped semi-gracefully onto the bed. "That went well."

"You hit your head." Red noted.

"But I hit it on _purpose_." Sabrina said. "I really think I'm getting better at this whole thing."

"That's one thing I've noticed." Granny said. "You're surprisingly calm about this."

"Yeah..." Daphne said. "You really are. I mean, once you would have freaked out completely if stuff like this happened."

"I would have, wouldn't I?" Sabrina said. "That's funny. Now it's almost like, it was _supposed_ to happen or something."

"I wonder what else is gonna happen to you..." Daphne mused.


	4. Rain, Rain, Go Away

**AN~ I love snow days. They allow me to write a great deal. We have at least four inches of snow, and it's still snowing hard. Don't you just love March? So springlike. I think my dad jinxed it. Oh, by the way, I'm not going to concentrate on anything else that will never happen, even though if I get a good idea, I might throw it in, just Sabrina as an everafter. What color should Sabrina's wings be, btw? Little puckabrina here for y'all.**

**_elliegoat:_ Please review all my stories like you do this one! 1) Is gravity an element? good idea, can you just imagine her burning Puck's hair off as revenge? 2) No. Sorry, but I have no idea how that would work. I have a soft spot for Baba Yaga anyway. 3) See answer for number one.**

* * *

Sabrina was feeling cramped. Baba Yaga had strictly stated that until they knew more, she couldn't use her wings, and Granny had made her stop walking on the ceiling, so she was stuck on the ground.

But, the wings had changed something, somehow. She no longer felt happy just walking on the ground, and even running didn't feel as good as it used to. She felt this strong desire to fly; to be up in the air; to have a third dimension to move in. It was so strong she felt like she might explode if she didn't get off the ground soon.

She thought about it for a second, decided it was worth it, and scanned the house for potential dangers. Granny was cooking, as usual. Uncle Jake was out with Briar, Henry, and Veronica, watching some movie or something. Daphne, Puck and Red were alternating between watching a different movie and complaining that they couldn't go outside because of the rain. No one was paying any attention to her. Perfect!

Sabrina snuck outside, spread her wings, and took off. It war harder than she had thought it would be. The whole beating her wings to keep in the air part was just fine, it was almost like an instinct, but the rain made her wings heavier, and the wind was almost too strong for her to move. But just being in the air was exhilarating! She felt like she could do this forever!

Then the wind had to go pick up speed and ruin her fun.

Sabrina glared at the clouds and yelled "Stupid storm!"

She was getting worried, now. She'd lost control of her direction and was rushing headlong for who knows what. Sabrina shrieked as she flew on, and just as she thought she was about to hit the side of the house, she stopped.

Sabrina blinked for a moment, made sure she was alive, and realized she was being held by somebody. She looked up. Puck's arms were wrapped around her. It was really the wrong moment for this, but she couldn't help thinking how good he looked with his hair all slicked down like that.

"Of all times to sneak out, Grimm." Puck said, shaking his head.

"No one was outside." Sabrina said defensively.

"You're one of the dumbest people I've ever met." Puck rolled his eyes, shouting over the storm.

"Takes one to know one." Sabrina shot back.

Puck landed safely on the porch, and blinked at Sabrina. Then he started laughing. "You look ridiculous."

Sabrina looked back at him dryly and said, "I'm not the only one."

"We're quite a pair." Puck grinned.

"We really are." Sabrina smiled. "I mean, we've even got a pattern going. I do something stupid, you rescue me. Repeat."

"What would you do with out me, Grimm?" Puck asked.

"I think I'd be dead about five times over."

"C'mon, your parents are back, and the Old Lady thinks it's time for you to tell them what's up."

"Great." Sabrina muttered. Of course, as long as Puck was with her, she didn't particularly mind.


	5. An Explanation of Sorts

**AN~ Back to my other stories. This is my favorite, actually. Sorry I took forever to update. I wanted to finish that part of cyberspace, and after that is now, so...**

**_elliegoat:_ No, I didn't have writers block, I've just been REALLY busy recently. I'd give you a full report of my schedule for the past couple weeks, but I don't think you care.**

* * *

Daphne grinned in relief as she watched a soaking wet Puck follow Sabrina into the house. Then she blinked as she noticed that Sabrina was completely dry. She hoped that her parents wouldn't notice.

No such luck.

"Sabrina-" Veronica said curiously.

Sabrina looked up nervously. "What?"

"Weren't you just outside in the rain?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah..." Sabrina said curiously. "Why?"

"You're not wet." Veronica muttered.

Sabrina looked down at herself. "Hm. I'm not. That's new."

"You're surprisingly calm about this." Uncle Jake noted.

"I think it's aftershock or something." Sabrina said by way of explanation.

"What?" Daphne asked.

"I'll explain later." Sabrina nodded meaningfully at her parents.

Daphne's eyes widened as she realized what must have just happened.

"Your grandma said you had something to tell us, Sabrina?" Henry asked.

"Yeah..." Sabrina trailed off. "About that... Well, you know what, I'd better just show you."

"Show us wha-" Veronica gasped.

Sabrina had unfurled her wings, and was now in the process of moving herself and several other objects onto the ceiling.

"What the-" Henry blinked several times.

"You have wings?" Veronica asked. "They're gorgeous."

They were, actually. The undersides were white with a scattering of mahogany speckles, and the tops were black with a few tan spots. They were huge- they had to be to support a full-sized human, even one as skinny as Sabrina was.

"Yeah, I've got wings. Plus there's the whole gravity control thing too. And I'm starting to think weather, too." Sabrina said, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Truthfully, though, she was just attempting to keep her father from exploding. It didn't work.

"Why do you have _wings_?" Henry hissed.

Sabrina shrank away from her father. "You remember how we told you about the time in New York where Moth poisoned me?" Henry nodded. "Well, the cocoon that made me better apparently turned me into an everafter." She whispered the last words.

"_WHAT_?" Henry roared.

"Relax, Henry." Granny said.

"_Relax_? My daughter is an everafter, and you expect me to _relax_?"

"Yes I do." Granny replied. "It's not like she had a choice."

"But- how?" Veronica asked.

"Ask Baba Yaga." Sabrina said. "I really have no clue."

"You seem really calm about this." Veronica noted.

"Doesn't she?" Daphne asked. "It's weird. You'd think she'd be more upset about it than Dad."

"You would." Veronica agreed. "But- that explains the water, doesn't it?"

"I guess she's got a new ability. She couldn't do that before."

"Again with the whole talking about me like I'm not here." Sabrina complained.

"We enjoy ignoring you." Puck told her.

Sabrina almost glared, but then she changed her mind. She stood looking at him, completely calmly, but inside, she felt this tremendous amount of energy building in her chest. It was a combination of leftover adrenaline, fear, joy at her recent flight, but mostly anger. Anger at her father for taking this so badly, anger at Baba Yaga for keeping her from flying, anger at Granny for listening to Baba Yaga, anger at Daphne and Veronica for talking about her like she wasn't there, the constant anger at the Scarlet Hand for ruining her life, and anger at Puck for getting on her nerves as usual. "Just- shut up, Puck." She said.

"Why?"

Sabrina leaned on the table. "Because you're really getting on my-" She stopped, and looked down at her hand. She was pretty sure she'd heard the sound of something burning. She lifted up her hand. The table under it was black and crisp.

Puck had ignored her talking and continued to throw jibes at her. "I think-" He broke off, staring at Sabrina.

Sabrina was still gazing at him calmly, but her eyes flashed orange, and seemed to dance for a few seconds. Then all he heard was Daphne's shriek: "PUCK! YOU'RE ON FIRE!"

Puck rolled his eyes up, and saw little trickles of flame on his forhead. "Uh-oh." He whispered.

Sabrina was still staring at him, then her eyes flashed a deep green color, and Puck's head was now soaked again. "Did I do that?" She asked in wonder.

"Thanks a lot, Grimm." Puck glared.

"I'm sorry!" She said. "I didn't know I could do that, and I was just so mad, and..."

"It's all right." Puck said. "I probably needed a haircut anyway."

"You did." She grinned. "That's payback for the pickle incident, by the way."

"I though it was-" Daphne started.

"I was mad at everybody, he just got in the way. I burned the table, too." Sabrina explained.

"You're getting more powerful by the day, Sabrina." Granny said.

"What all can you do?" Veronica asked.

"I can control gravity, fly -you have no idea how much fun that is, by the way-, and apparently control the elements." Sabrina said.

"We need to go talk to Baba Yaga about this." Granny said.

"Aw, come on!" Sabrina complained. "She'll stare at me and stuff and pretend I can't hear what she's saying!"

"But I promised her that I would inform her of any updates in your condition." Granny pointed out.

"Can it wait? Sabrina asked. " I want to try it out some more."

"I don't know..." Granny looked worriedly at the sky. "It's storming pretty badly."

"Exactly!" Sabrina said. "See, I'm thinking that I can control the weather, and if I can, then I want to try it out!"

"What makes you think that?" Henry asked.

"Sabrina just stared at her father. As she did, the thunder died away, and the sun began to shine through the window. "That." She pointed behind her.

"Works for me." Puck shrugged.

Sabrina grinned. "So does she have to come now? Or can I go enjoy the beautiful day?"

Granny smiled. "Go have fun, Sabrina."

Sabrina almost squealed with joy as she ran outside. Puck followed her, shaking his head at Sabrina's antics. Daphne and Red followed after happily, ready to go jump in the puddles.

Granny sighed. She knew the time was coming when she'd have to talk with Henry. It had been coming for months now, but she'd hoped to put it off a bit longer. She turned and looked at her eldest son, bracing herself for an argument.


	6. Arguement and an Extension

**AN~ I just edited and got rid of the useless AN that was here before.**

**_elliegoat:_ 1) No idea. Prefferably more so than earlier. 2) I don't. You might get Bella, though. I love Bella...**

* * *

Henry glared at his mother fiercely. "Why didn't you tell me this?" He hissed.

"I wanted Sabrina to tell you about it yourself." Granny shrugged.

"And more importantly," Henry continued, "How could you let this happen?"

"Henry!" Veronica cried. "Your mother has taken_ excellent_ care of the girls, and Sabrina told me exactly what happened. There was nothing Relda could have done to stop it!"

"She told you _everything_?" Henry asked.

"Not _everything_, but the story of how it must have started, and I know for a fact that the effects would not have become apparent until it was too late!"

"I knew something like this would happen if we stayed too long!" Henry shouted.

"It happened before you even woke up." Jake pointed out.

"That's it!" Henry shouted. "We're leaving!"

"That's not going to work so well, dear." Granny said.

"Why?" Henry asked.

"For one thing, Daphne doesn't want to leave. I don't think Sabrina does anymore, either. And even if she did, she wouldn't be able to." Granny pointed out. "She's and everafter. She can't pass the barrier."

Henry realized this, glared fiercely at his mother, and sighed. "I give in. _For now_. But if anyone gets hurt, I'm getting us out of here, no matter what."

"You can try, Henry, but don't forget that I have legal custody over the girls. According to the government, you're still missing. if you want to try and sort that out, you'll have to do that before you can leave." Granny said, attempting to be calm.

Henry just glared at Granny and stormed out of the kitchen. Veronica sent a desperate look at her mother-in-law and followed him, mouthing, 'I'll see what I can do.'

Jake looked at his mother and sighed. "Well, that went well."

"Yes." Granny agreed. "Much better than I was hoping. I bought us some more time, at least."

"Do you ever think he'll decide to stay?" Jake asked.

"Maybe." Granny said thoughtfully. "My best bet, though, is to get us through until Sabrina at least is 16."

"Sixteen?"

"She can decide where she wants to live, then."

"Mom, that's three years."

"Well, we'd better make a lot of wishes."


	7. BUBBLES!

**AN~ OK, I have a question for you all. Do you want Daphne to be an everafter, too? Because if you do, I have a scenario all planned out. If you don't, I'll drop the scenario and move on. I really like it though, so... oh, and if Daphne's one, what about Uncle Jake? And what do you think of Sabrina being an astral traveler? I wouldnt normally ask, but I'm not sure whether they're dumb ideas...**

* * *

Unbeknownst to the adults, Sabrina and Puck had been listening to the whole conversation through the front door, relating what they heard to the younger two. After they were done listening, Sabrina sat down with a bump.

"Crap." She said.

"What?" Puck asked.

"I forgot about the barrier."

"Yeah, that does sort of cause a problem." Red said.

"I wish I had that problem." Daphne complained.

"It's gonna be a real nusiance." Sabrina muttered.

"Why?" Daphne asked. "We barely ever go near the border."

"But I can fly." Sabrina said.

"What does that have to do with it?" Red asked.

"The barrier isn't a tube, it's a sphere." Sabrina said.

"Not sure I follow." Daphne said.

It's like a bubble- that's it, I'll show you!" Sabrina said, running inside.

"What's the rush, _liebling_?" Granny asked.

"Showing Daphne and Red something. Do we have any bubble mix?" Sabrina answered.

"Yes, it's in the closet, I think."

"Thanks! Sabrina said. She reappeared on the porch a few minutes later with a piece of paper and a bottle of bubble mix.

"What are you going to do?" Daphne asked.

"Demonstrate." Sabrina said, pulling out the bubble wand. She stuck her finger in the bubble mix, swirled it around a few tmes, then spread it on the paper. "OK," She said, "Say the paper is the earth."

"Uh-huh." Daphne nodded.

"And this-" Sabrina blew a largish bubble. "Is the barrier." She carefully manuvered the paper towards the bubble, managing to stick it in the middle through the soapy part.

"Whoa." Red said. "How'd you do that?"

"Surface tension." Sabrina said. "It doesn't recognize the paper as different form itself, so it lets it through. I can do it with a pin, too." She now had two separate bubble halves, one on top of the paper, and one underneath. "Now, the paper is the ground. The bubble half on the bottom is below the ground. The other is the barrier that most of us know about. Now say-" She pulled out a pin and dipped it in the bubble mix. "that I'm here." She pointed to a spot at the edge of the barrier. "If I try and fly up, I'll hit the barrier-"

"Actually, if you're right on the edge and you _jump_ up, you'll hit it." Puck said.

"Nice." Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. "So the closer you are to the edge, Daphne, the more likely you are to get stuck. See?"

"I get it now!" Daphne said.

"Me too!" Red exclaimed.

"I knew that already." Puck said. "But the bubble stuff was cool."

Sabrina grinned. "That's 'cause bubbles are amazing."

Red stared at Sabrina.

"What?" Sabrina asked. "Aren't I allowed to like bubbles?"

"Sure, I guess... you just don't seem quite the type to love bubbles, though..." Red trailed off.

Daphne laughed. "She's always loved bubbles. I thinnk she knows everything there is to know about them."

"Why, though?" Red asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "They're my immaturity outlet."

Puck blinked. "Your what?"

"Like your pranks. I can't be mature or angsty all the time." Sabrina said.

Puck grinned. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did this?" He grabbed the bubble mix and blew bubbles in Sabrina's face.

Sabrina shrieked and grabbed an extra bubble wand away from him. It had soon turned into an all-out bubble war, everyone for themselves. Sabrina never seemed to run out of bubble mix, even though everyone else was running out almost constantly. Daphne hadn't been kidding. Sabrina could use the bubble wand exactly right, and showed off her bubble skills quite proudly. Puck got her back by dumping the mix on her head. Then Sabrina hit him and showed them how to make more.

It was almost an hour before Daphne noticed what was so unusual about Sabrina's bubbles. They didn't pop.

"Sabrina?" She asked. "Are you doing something weird with your bubbles?"

Sabrina looked down at the mass of bubbles littering the yard. She blinked at one and it dissapeared. "I don't think so... why?"

"Because all ours are popping, but yours aren't." Daphne said.

Sabrina shrugged. "That's weird. Hm." She blew another bubble and poked it. It didn't pop. She glared at it. It popped.

Puck noticed something. "Hey, when was the last time you dipped your wand back in the mix?"

Sabrina though for a minute. "I think it was right after you dumped it on my head. Why?"

"Because there's nothing on your wand. I don't think there has been for a while."

Sabrina blinked and blew into the wand. A bubble appeared. "Apparently I've got another power..."

Daphne shrugged. "That's kind of dissapointing."

"Really?" Sabrina asked. "I kind of like it. Actually, aside form the whole flying thing, I think I might like it best."

"Guess we'd better go tell the Old Lady, huh?" Puck asked.

"Sure..." Sabrina made a face. "Drat. Now Baba Yaga will _have_ to come over."

"Poor you." Red said.

"Tell me about it." Sabrina said. "Come on, I wanna show off my amazing bubbles!"


	8. Journals

**AN~ Pathetic excuse for a chapter.**

* * *

Sabrina was staying up late, as usual. She'd made a habit of doing so, hoping that sooner or later she could read through all the books in the house, or at least the journals. She wasn't going in any particular order, just whichever book she grabbed. After a year, she was over three-quarters of the way through and moving fast.

Tonight she was reading an older journal, one by Angelina Grimm. Sabrina liked Angelina's journals, Angelina reminded her of herself. Headstrong, smart, brave, annoying, protective, loud, and stuck up, it was Sabrina to a T. Of course, Angelina was a pretty great fairytale detective, too.

She'd just found something interesting. Angelina was talking about a discovery she'd just made, a sword of some kind. The way she talked about it, it seemed more like a group of swords than one, but she always refferred to it as 'the sword'. She found several references to it in the journal. It appeared to be some sort of communications device, as well as a weapon in disguise.

Sabrina yawned. It was probably time to go to sleep, but she wanted to write in her journal first.

_Today has been interesting. There have been several new developments in my powers since I last wrote. It seems to come in spurts. I get something new, then nothing happens for a wek or so, then BAM! 3 new powers in one day! I can control the weather and the elements, and, wait for it- bubbles. I know, crazy, right? I'm assuming it's not just that, but for now I can make bubbles out of thin air, and they don't pop. I've been really tired recently, but that comes in spurts, too. Like, I'm tired, then I'm full of energy. It's weird. I'll talk to Baba Yaga about that tomorrow. And the swords in Angelina's journal._

_Dad's not going to have us move out. Yet. It's interesting, I'm the only Grimm who's an everafter, and yet all my dad can think about is my safety. I hope he changes his mind eventually._

_No developments on the Scarlet Hand front. Still silent. I think they're planning something big._

_Yours,_

_Sabrina Gri_

Sabrina fell asleep on the couch, pen in hand and journals on her lap, with her name still unfinished.


	9. Examination

**AN~ I still want to know if you think Daphne should be an everafter. if you don't tell me, I'll just sort of assume you don't care and do whatever I want with the story. So review! It's in you best interests! Oh, and I'll add more puckabrina eventually, I'm still getting Sabrina her powers and adding a plot.**

**elliegoat: You really ought to get an account and write your own stories, you've got a TON of ideas. 1) I've got it all planned out if the reviewers want it to happen. if they don't I'll consider your other option. 2) mine are different swords! 3) jack is probably dead. I already told you about rumplestiltskin.**

* * *

Granny walked downstairs the next morning to find Sabrina sprawled on the couch, one journal sticking out from under her stomach, another on the floor next to the couch, along with a pen. She smiled and shook her awake gently.

"Sabrina?"

"Mmm?" Sabrina asked groggily.

"It's breakfast time, what do you want to eat?"

Sabrina blinked the sleep out of her eyes, saying, "I don't care. Actually, I just sort of want to go back to sleep..."

Granny smiled. "Well, you'd better eat something, I'm calling Baba Yaga after breakfast to find out when we can visit her."

Sabrina groaned. "Great... can't we, like, have _her_ come _here_ or something? I don't have enough energy to move."

Granny smiled. "We could have Puck carry you."

Sabrina snorted. "I'm sure he'd _love_ that."

"So what do you want to eat?" Granny asked again.

Sabrina closed her eyes again. "Pancakes... or french toast... maybe waffles... something normal, please."

Granny shook her head with a smile and walked into the kitchen.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Sabrina was up and moving around, full of energy. She had perked right up after consuming a stack of pancakes, and was almost looking forward to the trip to Baba Yaga's, and hoping they would take the carpet so she could fly.

In the middle of her third stack of pancakes, the door bell rang.

"I'll get it." Sabrina muttered. "As usual..."

When she answered the door, Baba Yaga was standing there, looking frantic, with her house behind her. "Let me in!" She shrieked.

Sabrina backed out of the doorway, bewildered. She was shocked when the house turned into a chicken and followed its mistress inside. She sighed, shrugged, and followed it into the living room.

When she got there, Baba Yaga was in the middle of telling her story. "They attacked my house and almost killed me. If I hadn't been forewarned, I'd be dead now."

"Wait-" Sabrina said. "Who warned you?"

"A girl, about your age." Baba Yaga said. "She was blond, too."

"I wonder who that could have been..." Daphne said. "There's not that many kids in Ferryport Landing."

Puck shrugged. "Whoever she is, she's got good information."

Sabrina glared. "Stupid Scarlet Hand. "I was just starting to have fun and- BAM! They're causing trouble again!" She had subconsciously curled her fingers as if she was holding a ball, and a flame was developing in the space between them.

Baba Yaga stared. "You didn't tell me she could do that!" She screeched, rounding on Granny.

"I was about to call you when you arrived here." Granny said. "It only started yesterday."

"She can do other stuff too!" Daphne piped up.

"Like what?" Baba Yaga asked curiously.

"Weather and the rest of the elements, and bubbles." Sabrina said.

"Bubbles?" Baba Yaga asked. "That's interesting... I wonder what else it is."

"Could we conduct the examination somewhere _else_? Sabrina asked. "Like, _away _from the rest of the family?"

Granny smiled. "Why don't you go up to your room? I'll see what I can do about the house."

Upstairs, Sabrina sighed. "That's better."

"Why did you want to leave?" Baba Yaga asked.

"Mainly my dad." Sabrina said. "He's upset about this enough without you going over all the details in front of him. Plus I've got an idea about the bubbles and if I'm right, I don't want him to know."

"You think they might be related to the barrier?" Baba Yaga asked. "Yes, I think so too."

"That might be useful" Sabrina said. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Make me a fire." Baba Yaga said. "What?"

Sabrina clenched her fingers around the invisible ball again and concentrated. "Two things, actually. Can I let it go out yet?"

"Yes. Water now. What?"

"I've been tired and really hyper in spurts, and I want to know why. Is it an everafter thing, or am I sick, or what?" Sabrina spread her fingers out and sent a little swirl of water around the room.

"Now air. It's because your powers are new. You don't have the capability of storing the energy right yet. If you feel strongly about something, or if you eat or sleep, you should have lots of energy, but if you do anything magical, until you store up some reserves, you'll just sap your own energy."

Sabrina concentrated on the nothing in front of er htat was air. SHe could almost see it, if she looked right. It started moving. "Thanks. The other question was, what is 'the sword'?"

"The what? Earth."

Sabrina concentrated on the dust in the room. It gathered into a pile and shook. "It's something I found in the journals."

"Weather. Which journal?"

"Inside? Oh, whatever." Sabrina decided that a storm in her bedroom would be fun, and she made a miniature thunderhead right over Baba Yaga's head, taking care to have the water evaporate before it hit anything else. "Angelina Grimm."

"I remember Angelina. A lot like you. Any other weather?"

"I haven't tried." She spun the thundercloud with her mind, and it became a tiny hurricane, then the rain died, and it was a tornado. "I guess so. She mentions a lot about this sword, and I want to know what it is."

"Can you do weather on a large scale? I'd be able to tell you better if you showed me the journal."

Sabrina concentrated for a minute then brought the temperature down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and made it snow outside. Then she cleared it away and let the weather return to its normal temperature of 70 degrees. "I'll show you once we're done."

"Bubbles first. Why are you asking me? Your grandmother probably knows."

"But I trust you to tell the truth." Sabrina pulled out a bubble wand. "Granny'll probably think I'm too young to know or something and tell me it's not important."

"Knowing Relda, she will. Can you make the bubble without the wand? Try it."

Sabrina shrugged, popped the old bubbles, and concentrated on the air in front of her. Nothing happened. She took her hands and made another invisible ball between them on instinct. She felt something in between them, and she pulled her hands apart. Whatever it was got bigger. Sabrina concentrated harder, and the whatever it was gained a pearly sheen. "Ha! That's cool!"

"That's enough for now." Baba Yaga said. "We'll work more later. Now, about that journal...?"

"Come on." Sabrina said, leading her downstairs.


	10. Surprise

**AN~ Ah, finally updating! You guys are evil! No one wants Daphne to be an everafter! So she's going to grow up and get old and die and Sabrina will never see her sister again, all because no one who wanted her to be an everafter reviewed! Hmph. I'm sure Daphne feels so loved right now. On another note, I'm not sure if I got Bella's last name right...**

**grimmgirl: Actually, the blue fairy doesn't have a lot of separate powers, just a lot of power. don't worry, she's got most of them now.**

**elliegoat: 1) I'll think about it. 2) actually, I sort of had an idea like that, but it was different. 3) she did. but she's busy right now, so she doesn't have time to. Pretend that in the time where nothing happened, she got him back for everything. 4) not really. She might be able to tell when people are lying, not sure yet. 5) that was going to be one of Daphne's powers but...**

* * *

Downstairs, Sabrina was about to show Baba Yaga the journal entry, when Granny entered the room. "I wanted to talk to you, Baba Yaga."

Baba Yaga looked up irritably. "What about?"

"Well, mainly where you're going to stay. It's obvious the scarlet Hand wants you dead, and I don't think it'll be particularly easy to hide from them."

"And do you have a suggestion?" Baba Yaga asked.

"Actually, I was thinking you could stay in Puck's room." Granny suggested.

"No way!" Puck yelled, running into the room.

"Please, Puck?" Granny asked.

"I thought you loved Baba Yaga." Sabrina said.

"I don't want her in my room!" Puck glared.

"Come on." Sabrina wheedled. "She'll stay in her house and you can like, I dunno, sleep in a cave or something."

Puck glared. "Fine. But you owe me now."

"Who owes you?" Granny asked mildly.

"All of you." Puck continued glaring.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Calm down, fairy boy."

Puck snorted. "Like you would if it was your room?"

Sabrina thought about it. "Probably not. Come on, let's go for a fly. Maybe you can calm down outside."

So they went outside, and Sabrina practiced her flying. It was fairly instinctual, but Puck taught her some tricks to improve. It was interesting, especially because Sabrina's wings were designed differently than Puck's. Puck almost flew into a tree at one point because he was so busy watching Sabrina, who laughed her head off at the sight. Puck retaliated by throwing a stick at her head. They had a very refreshing fight afterwards, during which Sabrina exercised her new powers a bit more.

When they returned to the house, they were both thoroughly relaxed and happy, still giggling a bit occsionally. Sabrina, however, was also exausted. She stumbled off to sleep as soon as she got into the house, and collapsed onto her bed immediately after reaching it, taking a blissful nap.

* * *

Puck was downstairs talking to Baba Yaga. "What did you say she'd found?"

Baba Yaga didn't look away from the journals on the shelf as she replied. "Something called the sword, in Angelina's journal."

"That one's under the couch." Puck said, pulling it out. "I shoved it there this morning to bug her."

Baba Yaga grabbed the journal and raced out of the room, calling towards Puck, "I'll read it in your room!"

"Help yourself." Puck muttered bemusedly. He was about to go find Daphne or Red when the doorbell rang.

No on seemed to be getting it, and it rang again. Puck figured he'd better answer it before Sabrina got up to get it. That would be trouble, and besides, she needed sleep. Not that he cared or anything...

Puck walked to the door, opened it, and stared.

Standing behind the door was Bella Amphibian.


	11. In Which Several People go a tad Crazy

**AN~ Yay! the majority of people_ do_ want Daphne to be an everafter, myself included! So she will be, eventually! The misspellings when Sabrina first wakes up are intentional. The rest are not, and so have been edited out.**

**coolicious: It does help, and she does, deosn't she?**

**elliegoat: see, I think Baba Yaga is being evil to protect her feelings. See my story _Hund_****_red_, ch. 21 for details. 1) All animal powers will be Daphne's domain. 2) I don't think she's gonna lose her powers. 3) No, she like being powerful, remember? 4) Eventually. patience, grassjopper. 5) Yeah. See H_undred_ ch. 14.**

* * *

"Can I talk to Sabrina?" Bella asked.

"Umm..." Puck hedged, "I'm not sure..."

"Please?" Bella asked, half begging. "It's really important."

"I'll see what she's doing." Puck turned and headed for the stairs, praying Sabrina was busy.

* * *

Sabrina woke up to Puck calling her name... sort of. "Grimm?"

"Mhm?" Sabrina rolled halfway over so that she could see the door.

"You doing anything important?" Puck asked. "Please say you are."

Sabrina thought for a minute. "I wa'sleepin', 'zat count?"

"I'll tell her you're busy." Puck said, turning around.

Sabrina was about to fall asleep when it dawned on her what Puck had said. "Wait-"

Puck stuck his head back through the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Who're you tellin' 'm busy?"

"Nobody." Puck said.

Sabrina got up, mostly awake now. "No, really?"

"You don't want to talk to her, Grimm."

"If she- whoever she is- wants to talk to me, it's probably important." Sabrina persisted. "Now who is it?"

"You don't want to talk to her, Grimm, trust me." Puck said resignedly, following Sabrina down the stairs.

"I do." Sabrina said. "But you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat."

Puck shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

Sabrina rounded the corner below the stairs and stopped dead. "You." She whispered.

"I told you so." Puck said, leaning on the wall.

"Shut up, fairy boy." Sabrina said, not looking at him. "What are you _doing_ here?" She hissed at Bella.

"I needed to talk to you." Bella said nervously.

"What gave you the idea to come_ near_ this place?" Sabrina was glaring daggers at Bella. "What made you think, even for a second, that you'd be welcome here?"

"It's really important." Bella muttered.

Sabrina just kept glaring at Bella. After a few seconds, Puck noticed a distinct increase in the room's temparature, and realized that he'd seen the look in Sabrina's eyes yesterday, when she'd burned the majority of his hair off. He headed towards her.

Bella was eyeing Sabrina nervously. "Are you alright?"

"Grimm." Puck said. "Grimm? Answer me. Bella, could you go outside for a minute? Grimm, come on, look at me! Granny! Can you come here? Grimm, snap out of it! Bella, you'd better leave. Sabrina? I mean it, Bella. Outside, Now. Grimm!"

Bella finally took the hint and walked outside. Sabrina didn't move; she just kept staring at the door. Puck put a hand on Sabrina's shoulder tentatively, got no response, found he could touch her without burning himself, took a deep breath, and grabbed Sabrina's chin, yanking it so that she was facing him. For a moment, Puck felt an immense heat, then Sabrina blinked, lost the frightening look in her eyes, and glared at Puck.

"What were you thinking?" She whispered harshly to Puck. "I could've burned your face off!"

"I was thinking about keeping you from burning a hole through the door, or worse, Bella's face." Puck whispered back.

"Couldn't you have done it some other way than sticking _your_ face in the line of fire?"

"I called your name about five times and tapped you on the shoulder. You didn't notice. So, no. Calm down."

"I can't believe she came back here." Sabrina muttered.

"But she's here, and you said you wanted to talk to her, so you're going to." Puck said.

"I hate you." Sabrina glared at Puck.

"It's mutual." Puck said calmly. "Now, I'm going to open the door and let Bella in. What are you going to do?"

"Pretend I can stand her, and listen to what she has to say." Sabrina pouted.

"And what are you _not _going to do?" Puck asked.

"Burn her, freeze her, soak her, bury her, or blow her into next Tuesday." Sabrina muttered again.

"There we go." Puck said. "Now, is that so hard?"

"Yes." Sabrina muttered mulishly.

Granny walked into the room at that moment. "Yes, Puck?"

"You remember Bella from school?" Puck asked. "Well, she's outside and she wants to talk to Sabrina, but-"

"That didn't work so well." Sabrina said. "We could use someone who doesn't hate her guts."

"Well then, Let her in." Granny said.

Puck let her in, Granny sat her down at the kitchen table and told ther to tell them her story.

So Bella began. "I got kicked out of my house because I finally 'fessed up that I don't want to be in the Hand, and I need a place to stay. Could I- Could I stay here?"

Before Puck or Sabrina could say anything, she rushed on.

"I know things. They trusted me before, and I could help you. I have their plans, I can tell you where they're going to strike next. I warned the old witch inthe woods this morning. Please?"

Granny smiled. "Of course you can."

Sabrina and Puck just stared. "That's it, she's cracked." Puck muttered.


	12. Talkings To

**AN~ I would've updated yesterday, but the site wouldn't let me get to the documents page. Anyone else have that problem?**

**elliegoat: It's all right. I am capable of thinking up my own ideas, you know. I'm going to incorporate the barrier, but not like that.**

**sistersgrimmlover: eventual puckabrina. I like to focus on their friendship first. And I picked Bella 'cause I never wanted her to be evil. Sabrina needs a friend.**

* * *

That night, Sabrina was sitting on the porch roof, contemplating everything that had happened that day, when Puck climbed out of the window behind her. "Whatcha doing?"

"Thinking." Sabrina replied.

"What about?" Puck asked, sitting down next to her.

"Everything."

"And what do you think about 'everything'?"

"I think that we can't trust Bella, that the house is going to run out of room, that the Scarlet Hand_ is_ going to make some major move soon, that we need a spy, and that all this is happening way too fast." Sabrina said.

"Wow." Puck blinked. "Anything else?"

"That it'd be nice if I had some training of some sort, if my dad approved of us staying, if I wasn't so exausted all the time, and if I knew what 'that sword' was."

"I might be able to help with the training and finding out about the sword. The tired thing will go away eventually. Don't know about your dad."

"Is the energy thing normal?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I was born like this. Your body has to adapt to it."

Sabirna sighed. "I can't do anything without almost falling asleep, and then when I wake up, I'm still tired!"

"Sorry." Puck said. "There's not much I can do about that, though."

"Yes you can." Sabrina stated. "You're doing it right now. You're listening."

After a moment of silence, Puck spoke again. "I don't think we should let Bella know you're an everafter."

"Me neither." Sabrina said. "We'll have to make sure no one else tells, though."

"Yeah." Puck said.

Sabrina shivered. "It's cold."

"'Course you're cold!" Puck exclaimed. "You're not wearing a sweater!"

"I can't." Sabrina said. "None of them fit over my wings."

Puck shrugged off his own hoodie. "Wear mine. " He said.

Sabrina shook her head. "What'll you wear?"

"I've got more." Puck said.

"You never wear them." Sabrina noted.

"This one's my favorite." Puck held the sweatshirt in Sabrina's direction. "Come on, it'll fit over your wings, and it'll let them out when you need them to. My mom made sure of that."

Sabrina sighed and put on the sweater. "I'm surprised Bella didn't see my wings today."

"Me too." Puck said. "I wonder why."

Sabrina shrugged. "I dunno."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Again, Puck was the one who broke it. "What are you looking at?"

"The trees." Sabrina said, leaning tiredly on Puck's shoulder.

"Why?" Puck asked.

"Cause they're-" She yawned. "They're cool. Look at one, really look."

Puck looked. They _were_ pretty interesting. He looked over at Sabrina to tell her so, then realized that she had fallen asleep. He laughed a bit, then picked her up and carried her back through the window into her bedroom.

* * *

Red was in the living room that evening, about to go upstairs after watching a movie with Dapne, when Bella appeared at her elbow. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

Red shrugged, stopping. "Sure."

"They don't trust me." Bella said bluntly, sitting on the couch.

Red followed suit. "You didn't really give them much of a reason to, form what I heard."

"I hoped-" Bella paused. "I hoped they'd forgive me for that."

"For being in the Scarlet Hand, they might." Red said thoughtfully. "They forgave me, after all, and I tried to kill them. Granny's probably mostly forgiven you already."

"Do you trust me?" Bella asked.

Red thought about it. "I think I do."

"Why?"

"Because the Scarlet Hand doesn't use spies. They want the Grimms to know who they need to be afraid of."

"They do, don't they?" Bella blinked. "How can I get them to see that?"

"Daphne will trust you, in time." Red said. "She likes to trust people. The adults will need it proven, probably. Your biggest obstacles will be Sabrina and Puck."

"They're the people I'm here for, though." Bella said.

"Puck won't trust you because you pretended to be Sabrina's friend, then you hurt her. Puck doesn't like anyone who hurts Sabrina. Sabrina won't like you for the same reason."

"Can I- can I prove that I'm not going to do that again?"

"Maybe." Red said. "Not likely. Because betrayal is the worst thing you could possibly do, in Sabrina's eyes. It's the most horrible sin you could commit. She's been betrayed twice, and she didn't like it."

"But there must be something I can do, to make her trust me!" Bella said desperately.

Red shrugged. "Keep trying. Go out of your way to be nice to her. Tell her the whole story. And don't give up. It'll take a while, but you might be able to do it. There's something about you..."

Bella smiled. "Thanks, Red."


	13. Thoughts

**AN~ Wow, I think I got more reviews for this chapter than all the others combined! Anyway, sorry for three weeks without updates, but I was on vacation and there were no computers in the vicinity, then I was updating my other stories and this week I had driving school stuff. If and when you review, would you please mention any child everafters you can think of? I need to make sure I'm not missing any.**

**dog9girl: I'm hoping b=Bella & everyone're gonna be friends.**

**grimmgurl4lyf3: 'Course, wait and no, and also wait. Long reviews make me happy!**

**elliegoat: I hope I didn't like, make you think that I don't like your reviews or anything. I'm just trying to make you not feel obligated to give me suggestions. Wait 'til you hear Bella's story... that's what convinces Sabrina. Ha! Forgiving pills!**

**darthfiredragon: You'll see!**

**OK, stopping myself before I get TOO review reply happy, on with the story.**

* * *

The next morning, Sabrina woke up to an empty bedroom. She blinked groggily a few times, then went downstairs to see if Granny had made breakfast. In the kitchen, everyone else was already in eating, though Bella, Puck, and Baba Yaga, weren't downstairs yet.

Upon seeing Sabrina, Uncle jake grinned. "Nice sweatshirt, 'Brina."

Sabrina glanced down and realized she was still wearing Puck's shirt. She shrugged. "I was cold. 'Sides, it hides my wings better."

"You keeping it, then?" Puck asked, walking into the room.

Sabrina glanced up. "Can I?"

"Sure." Puck shrugged, sitting down. "I've got more."

"_Liebling_, you'd better wash that." Granny said, placing a large plate of red waffles in front of Sabrina.

"Don't worry, I will." Sabrina glanced down at the filthy sweatshirt.

"I'm going to ignore that." Puck said loftily.

"You do that." Sabrina replied, trying her waffle. It tasted pretty good.

Daphne and Red had been sharing knowing and amused looks across the table, as Sabrina had just noticed. She decided to ignore them, even though Daphne's hand was inching closer to her mouth, ready to be bitten.

Bella walked into the kitchen then, a little warily. Granny smiled at her and went to get her a plate of waffles. Sabrina ignored her too, determinedly starting a conversation with Uncle Jake about his plans for the week.

After finishing her waffles, Sabrina left the room hurriedly, hoping to get away from Bella, who, unfortunately, followed her.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked.

"To take a shower." Sabrina said. "I'd rather you didn't follow me in there too, so if you'll excuse me-" She shut the door in her face.

After a long relaxing shower, during which Sabrina had fun playing around with the water- making it float, forming cool patterns in the air, then shooting it around the room, still leaving it completely dry, things like that- she opened the bathroom door to go put the sweater in the laundry, only to be stopped by Bella, who was standing in the doorway, holding a very familiar black bag.

"Where did you get that?" Sabrina asked.

"Red." Bella said. "Come on, you need some help."

Sabrina glared at Red, who was standing behind Bella along with Daphne. 'You are dead.' She mouthed.

Red shrugged and followed Daphne into the bathroom. The two girls then watched as Bella attacked Sabrina's face, using various concoctions and brushes. After several minutes of flurried activity, Bella allowed Sabrina to turn around and face the mirror.

"Wow." Daphne said.

Sabrina could see why. She looked- good.

"Umm... thanks..." Sabrina said, still staring at her reflection. "I still don't trust you, though. You've done that before."

Bella sighed. "I know. I'll just have to think of something else."

Sabrina left the bathroom with a lot on her mind.

* * *

Puck found her in the laundry room some time later. "Need some help?"

"Please." Sabrina said, handing him a basket of unfolded laundry. "Set my stuff aside, Granny's making me loan some of it to Bella."

That was when Puck realized that he had absolutely no idea how to fold laundry. He shrugged and began rooting through the clothes for anything that looked like it would fit Sabrina, watching to see how she folded it. What had possed him to offer to help? He never did chores. Honestly, he'd never thought about how the laundry got from filthy to neatly folded in a dresser. He'd been too busy concentrating on getting his clothes dirty again. Thinking about it, he was pretty sure that his abrupt offer had something to do with Sabrina's face. She looked especially pretty today. He decided to distract Sabrina before she noticed his mistake, or the fact that he was staring at her.

"Last night, about the trees," he started, "Why did you start looking at them in the first place? You don't really strike me as a tree sort of person."

"Daphne's idea." Sabrina said. "I was stuck on something, and she told me to look at the trees because they helped her think. So I did, and it worked."

They went back to working in silence for another few minutes, or, in Puck's case, attempting to work, each immersed in their own thoughts.

"I wish I could read minds." Puck said suddenly.

"I don't." Sabrina said. "I don't think anyone should be able to do that."

He looked at her quizzically.

"I'd hate to know that much about people. I mean, imagine if, say, Daphne like, had a crush on you, and you could read minds, wouldn't that be awkward?"

Puck blinked, realizing what she meant.

"I get what you're saying though," She continued. "I'd rather just be able to tell when they were lying or something. Then I wouldn't find out anything unless I asked a direct question."

"Any other powers you wouldn't want to have?" Puck asked dryly.

"Hey!"

"I mean it." Puck protested, backing away from the shirt Sabrina was threatening him with. "It makes sense. More than you usually make."

Sabrina shook the shirt at him again, then thought about it. "If there was one other power I wouldn't want, it'd be telling the future."

"Why?"

"Because I saw it once, and there was too much bad about it. I'm happy finding things out as I go along."

"It's funny." Puck said. "Everything you don't want has to do with finding things out that well, nobody really has a right to know."

"Is that good?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "You're asking the Trickster King here, remember? But yeah, I'd say it is."

Sabrina laughed a bit and shook her head. Her gaze fell on Puck's unfolded laundry. She blinked, then looked shrewdlly at Puck. "You have absolutely no idea how to fold laundry, do you?"

"Nope." Puck said.

"Oh, I'll do it." Sabrina said. "Go- prank Bella or something."

"Gladly." Puck grinned, leaving the room. "By the way, you look nice today."

Sabrina blinked. That had been unexpected.


	14. The Truth Comes Out

**AN~ I started my mom on the books! She's on book 4 now...  
****This is going to be semi-hiatus for a while. I have 7 chapters I want to get up before I put up this next one, I'll try to get them up fast, but I can't promise anything. I'll try to update at least once a week!**

**_Grimmgulr4lyf3_: What is a Nudge Cookie?**

**_Rainbowofsmiles:_ Not a chance. Because... well, you'll see why.**

***See spider in my hundred challenge for more detail on Bella.**

* * *

The next day, Bella decided to search out Sabrina. Being shunned was not particularly fun, and she had something really important to tell the family. She had considered just telling the people who _did_ believe her, mainly Mrs. Grimm and Red, but Granny had told her it was better to wait until at least half the family trusted her; after all, there wasn't much point in warning people who weren't going to believe you.

So she decided that she would _make_ Sabrina believe her, whatever it took.

This wasn't as easy as she'd thought it would be, though. Sabrina was remarkably hard to pin down, especially alone. She'd wanted to talk while she was doing her makup the other morning, but the little girls had been there, which killed that privacy. Then later, she'd been folding laundry, and just as Bella came up, Puck had gone in and started helping her.

And it went on from there. Every time she found her, someone got in the way- usually Puck, Bella had been surprised to note. Maybe things had changed since they were in school. It had been over a year, after all. But they still argued. Argued quite a bit, actually. Half the conversations ended in shouted insults or bright red faces, with the two teen storming off in opposite directions.

Now, though! She was alone for once, sitting on the couch in the living room with two journals in her hands. She was alternating between reading one and writing notes in the other.

"Umm..." Bella said.

Sabrina looked up, startled. "Oh, shoot." She muttered, hurriedly gathering up her things, prepared to head for the porch roof.

"Wait-" Bella called, grabbing Sabrina's arm.

"Can't I be alone for _one minute_?" Sabrina asked irritably.

"No." Bella snapped back.

"I haven't been alone all day, and I really do _not_ want to any of my limited time with _you_, so-" Sabrina continued, attempting to wrench her arm out of Bella's grip.

Bella held on tightly. "Look. I know you hate me. I get that. But hear me out, OK?"

Sabrina stopped. There was something in Bella's voice- "Fine. I'll give you five minutes, then you leave."

"Umm... I'm sleeping here, remember?" Bella pointed out.

"Then _I'll_ leave." Sabrina sighed exasperatedly. "What's the world coming to? Can't get some peace and quiet in your own living room... Plus, I was here first."

"Can I talk now?" Bella asked.

"I'd rather you didn't." Sabrina said.

"Too bad." Bella started her story. "So, you know how lived with Rumplestiltskin, Natalie and Toby when I was younger?"

Sabrina nodded.

"Well, I'm _terrified_ of spiders. When Toby found out, he used it in any way he could. He and Natalie were evil from the beginning, they didn't need anyone else to help them along. I guess I can understand it, with their family histories and all. Natalie's dad has one of the worst tempers in town, and he's pretty heartless. Miss Muppet, well... she's just crazy. I, as Rumplestiltskin put it... needed convincing. I honestly didn't _want_ to be evil, I wanted to be nice, you know?

''And when I met you... well, I _wanted_ to help you; be your friend- goodness knows you needed one. But they said no. And with the spiders-" Bella broke of with a shudder. "Do you know what it's like, being threatened with your worst fear? I had to do it. I'm a pretty good actress, if I do say so myself. Now my parents are in the Hand, I could join them, but I'm free of the spiders. Nobody can make me stay now."

Sabrina blinked. "I almost believe you."

Bella relaxed.

"But now quite." Sabrina said. "There's something you're not telling me."

"No there isn't." Bella said.

Sabrina blinked. Wehn Bella had said that, her face had flashed bright red. Somehow, Sabrina was sure it meant she was lying. "Yes there is."

"Is not." Bella's face turned that unnatural shade of red again.

"Bella, I can tell you're lying." Sabrina said, realizing it was true, and more than that, that she could probably tell when anyone was lying, the same thing she'd talked with Puck about earlier. "Come on, spill."

"But-" Bella's face was blushing in a more normal fashion this time. "And how can you tell?"

"Just a talent I have. Tell."

"But, but-"

"Bella, you want me to trust you. How do you expect me to do that if you won't tell the whole story?"

"All right." Bella sighed in defeat. "Well, growing up here, there weren't many other everafter kids. Basically it was just us and Wendell. And with all the other kids moving around so much, I only got to know the other everafter's children. Toby and Natalie are basically a guranteed pair, I was the outsider. So was Wendell. So-" Bella broke off.

Sabrina was staring at her wit ha look of amazement. "You- you _like_ Wendell, don't you?"

Bella blushed scarlet. "Yeah..."

"All right. I believe you." Sabrina said.

"You do?" Bella asked. "Why?"

"Something Granny told me once. 'Love can make a hero out of anyone,' or something like that." She paused.

"Thanks." Bella said.

"No problem." Sabrina said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got something to think about."

She left the room, and Bella laid down on the couch, happy for the first time in days.


	15. Journalism

**AN~ I said I'd update once a week, and here I am! I hope I updated on Friday last week... Oh well. Sorry it's short, it's a filler.**

**redfirepixie: I'll do you a favor and just write it out in the chapter.**

**elliegoat: Phobias are weird. I'm claustrophobic in my sleep but not when I'm awake... much... and spiders terrify me except for the tiny jumpy ones, which I love.**

* * *

Sabrina was sitting on the porch roof later that night, writing in her journal.

_I have a new power. I can tell when people are lying. I found out a few minutes ago when Bella Amphibian told me her story, which I'll do her the favor of keeping a secret. I could tell when she tried to lie to me about having an ulterior motive for coming here. This motive, by the way, isn't hostile. My powers now consist of the following: Weather, element and gravity control, flight, barrier manipulation, and lie detection. I have a feeling there's more to come._

_No progress on the swords phenomenon mentioned in Anastasia's journal. Baba Yaga says she might know what they are, she needs to do more research. In the meantime, I am reading Wilhelm's journal. I have yet to discover what happened to Jakob._

_I think Bella's a friend, but I should probably question her more thoroughly. Daphne, Granny, and Red already trust her. I think she's got news for us, and if she does, Granny's not going to have her tell us until she's sure we can believe her. That means we have to convince my parents and Puck. I'll start on him tomorrow. Mom should be easy, Dad we can most likely ignore. He's still being difficult._

_My tiredness seems to be fading a little. Of course, that's probably because I haven't done much magically recently since we had a potential spy in the house. I still need to figure out if and how to tell Bella this. Until then, I can't train much. the Scarlet Hand has been quiet since their attack on Baba Yaga three days ago._

_Signing off,_

_Sabrina Grimm_.

She stared at the trees for a long time after that, hugging Puck's sweater and thinking of the best way to tell him what had happened earlier that night.


	16. Fights and Broken Lights

**AN~ School might slow down my update rate, but I hope not, just FYI. And you get ONE update of this before I move on to other things, then as soon as I'm done with it I'll update more. But this is like, EPIC storyness, so I'm saving it for last.**

**On another note: I've edited the first chapters of this. And most of my other stories. And I'm trying to edit a chapter a day or so... **

* * *

Sabrina woke up to Puck's face very close to hers. She jumped and backed away.

"What?" He asked.

"You were like, five inches away from me. First of all, that's a violation of my personal space, and second of all, I don't trust you. You could have been getting ready to like, spit on me or something."

Puck grinned sheepishly. "Maybe..."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You are such a dork."

"Anyway," Puck said, shrugging, "Bella wants to talk to you. Do you want me to tell her to stuff her face so you can get back to sleep?"

Sabrina cursed mentally, wishing she'd had more time to think of a way to break the news of the previous night's events to Puck. "Actually... yeah. But be polite about it, please, and I want to talk to you about that."

Puck stared at her. "It must be pretty important. I mean, you said _please_."

Sabrina blinked. Was she really that rude? She thought about it as Puck went to talk to Bella, then realized that, to Puck especially, she _was_. And that was no way for a girl to treat the best friend she had. She resolved to change that as soon as possible.

"What did you want to talk about?" Puck asked when he came back.

Sabrina took a deep breath. "Bella cornered me last night, and we talked, and... well, I kinda... believe her."

Puck stared at her incredulously. "You _trust_ her?"

"Well... yeah... I guess..." Sabrina said quietly, wincing at the furious expression that was rapidly forming on Puck's face. "It's because-"

"No." Puck interrupted. "You know what, Grimm? Just- no."

"But-" Sabrina started.

"Just shut up, Grimm, OK? Just shut up." Puck said, storming out of the room.

"That went well." Sabrina muttered, wondering at her strange and sudden urge to cry. She settled for punching the nearest object, a porcelain lamp Granny had gotten from China. It made a very nice noise when it fell, but shattered, only increasing her bad mood.

"Sabrina!" Daphne called up, "Breakfast time!"

Sabrina walked into the kitchen, muttering about stupid breakable vases and stupid little sisters and stupid grandmothers who made stupid weird food and left stupid breakable vases where stupid girls who let stupid people get into her stupid particularly breakable heart could punch them when they got mad at other stupid people, and most of all, stupid boys who wouldn't even let a girl finish her sentence before they stormed out of a room, just when they were almost getting along!

"Good morning, liebling." Granny said, setting a plate of green pancakes covered in purple syrup in front of her.

Sabrina shoved the plate away. "Not hungry. Don't we have any _normal_ food?"

Daphne blinked. "What's wrong with the food?"

"Nothing." Sabrina snapped. "Except that most people's food isn't green unless it's a _vegetable_."

"You're in a wonderful mood this morning." Veronica said, raising her eyebrows.

"Really?" Sabrina asked. "I hadn't noticed."

Red walked into the room at that moment. "Good morn-"

"No it's _NOT_!" Sabrina shouted, causing Red to burst into surprised tears. "What?" She asked, when the rest of the room glared at her. "It's not! It's an _awful _morning!"

Elvis whimpered and crawled under the table. Sabrina glared at him.

"Well, it might help if you didn't yell at everyone who blinked," Bella said dryly.

"Oh shut up!" Sabrina snapped. "It's all your fault anyway!"

"MY fault?" Bella asked. "What did I do?"

"Nothing." Sabrina glared. "Just messed things up with me and Puck, just when we were starting to get along, for the first time ever!" And to her extreme embarrassment, she started crying.

"I never liked that kid anyway." Henry muttered.

"You don't like him because it's obvious he and Sabrina are meant for each other." Jake whispered. Louder, he said, "Why don't you tell us what happened, Sabrina?"

Sabrina sniffed, trying to stop crying. "_She_," She jutted her chin at Bella, "Talked to me last night, and convinced me she was telling the truth. I tried to explain it to Puck, but as soon as I started talking, he yelled at me and stormed off somewhere! I'm going back to bed." She turned around and left the room.

Bella looked mortified. "That's awful!"

Henry blinked. "Well, that explains the mood, but she overreacted a bit, don't you think?"

Veronica shrugged. "Puberty messes with your emotions. So does lack of sleep, and considering the amount Sabrina's needing, that's not hard to get. Plus I'll bet that all those changes that becoming an everafter are causing are turning her insides into one giant mass of hormones and confusion."

Jake shook his head. "I'm so glad I wasn't a girl. That's just awful."

Bella stood up resolutely. "I've got to fix it."

"It's not your fault," Daphne shrugged, comforting Red. "Sabrina's just a little weirder than usual right now."

"You're mad at her," Bella pointed out. "And it _is_ my fault."

"What are you going to do, then?" Red sniffled.

"Don't worry." Bella winked. "I've got a plan!"


	17. Discussions of the Serious Sort

**AN~ 'Kay, I'm finally getting around to updating this! I might go back and rewrite the beginning, make it more flowy and stuff, but not 'til I finish my other story. I've also decided to have a minimum of 1,000 words per chapter.**

* * *

Someone was knocking on Sabrina's bedroom door.

"Come in." She called, not looking up.

Jake opened the door and stopped short, staring at the large pile of what appeared to be broken glass on the floor. "What's this?"

The pile vaporized. "Practicing." Sabrina said expressionlessly. "Did you want something?"

"You want to help me clean out the attic? It'd be more constructive than sitting here." Jake said. "'Cause your other option is counseling."

Sabrina got up. "No counseling."

On the way up to the attic, Jake said, "I'd hate to see you if someone like, _died_ or something."

"Hormones." Sabrina said dully. "Besides, you weren't there."

"So what happened?" Jake asked.

"He just yelled at me, out of the blue!" Sabrina said. "It wouldn't be so bad if I knew what I did, but I was just _talking_, just explaining something, and he totally _freaked_!"

"Ouch." Jake said, turning on the attic light.

"What are we doing up here?" Sabrina asked.

"I can't sleep on the couch anymore," Jake said, "Bella's going to be there, until we get something set up for her in Red's room. And since I was planning on moving somewhere else anyway, it was here or the basement. The attic has less stuff."

Sabrina gazed around at the dusty piles of- what was all that? "The basement has _more_?"

"You collect a lot of stuff when your family lives in the same house for generations. A bunch of it can probably be thrown out, or moved into someone's room, or the basement..."

"Which should probably be cleaned out, too." Sabrina finished. "How much space do you want cleared?"

"Less than half the attic." Jake said. "But first we have to find the screen."

"Screen?" Sabrina asked blankly.

"One of those Japanese things, Mom brought it back from her honeymoon." Jake said. "It'll give me privacy."

"Because you don't have privacy in the attic at all." Sabrina said dryly.

"There's the Sabrina I know." Jake said proudly as they set to work.

* * *

It took a long time for them to find the screen. By the time they did, Sabrina had somehow ended up in a two of a set of about 20 fat black leather belts she'd found in the bottom of a steamer trunk, Jake had on Elvis's Santa hat, they'd found a collection of the most random things ever that Jake was going to use to make the rough beams of the attic ceiling look somewhat more finished, and Sabrina was almost happy.

"Why'd you ask me to help?" Sabrina asked. "For real?"

"They seriously are considering therapy." Jake said, moving the screen into the position he wanted it. "Anything past here has to be moved. But I just thought you might need someone to talk to. No one else seems to be helping with that."

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Normally I'd go to mom, but she's got something on her mind. And I think Daphne remembered that she's mad at me or something, and..." She trailed off.

"Yeah, the other person you'd talk to is the reason you need to talk." Jake said. "Listen, can you get the wand out of my coat? I think it's in the third pocket from the top on the inside."

Sabrina went over to Jake's heavily pocketed overcoat, discarded in the July heat of the attic, and started searching the pockets. As she did, a small blue velvet box fell out.

"What's this?" Sabrina asked, leaning down to pick it up.

"No!" Jake said, reaching over, a panicked look on his face.

Too late. Sabrina had opened up the box, revealing a small diamond ring.

"Are you seriously going to ask her?" Sabrina asked excitedly, putting two and two together and coming up with a proposal.

"Maybe..." Jake said, snatching the box away and stuffing it back in his pocket.

Sabrina looked up at him. "You're nervous, aren't you? The great Jacob Grimm, ladie's man extrordinaire, is nervous!"

"Well it's not like I've ever asked anyone to marry me before!" Jake exclaimed.

"But you shouldn't be nervous." Sabrina said.

"Why not?" Jake asked.

"Because she loves you!" Sabrina grinned. "Now let's find you a bed."

"That better be an unconnected statement" Jake said darkly.

"'Course it is." Sabrina replied breezily. "I'm twelve, remember?"

They set about clearing Jake a space to sleep, and after a few minutes Jake added, "Don't tell anyone, OK?"

"Secret's safe with me." Sabrina said. "Now, if it was _Daphne_..."

"That sister of yours is way too excitable." Jake said. "I love her, but she needs to calm down."

"I think she's trying to make up for the fact that I'm so angry all the time." Sabrina commented thoughtfully, opening up a trunk. "We cover for each other like that."

"I've noticed. You really do watch each other's backs a lot, don't you?" Jake asked.

Sabrina pulled a few things out of the trunk. "We were the only people we could depend on. Plus-"

"Lieblings?" Granny called up the stairs. "Are you up there? It's lunch time."

"Coming, Mom." Jake called down. "Sabrina's with me."

They left everything exactly the way it was and headed downstairs for lunch, and they had reached the kitchen before Sabrina remembered to be nervous.


	18. Forgiven

**AN~ ****I was rereading this, and I came to the conclusion that, while it needs a serious rewrite, it's a lot better than I thought it would be. I'm proud of it. But it was still better in my head than it is here.**

* * *

Downstairs in the dining room, almost everyone was ready for lunch. The three girls waited tensely for Sabrina and Uncle Jake, hoping they could put their plan in action. They'd schemed the whole morning, Daphne because she wanted her sister happy again, Bella because she felt extremely guilty for causing the problems between Puck and Sabrina, and Red because it felt nice to be included, plus she wanted Sabrina to like her, too, and this might help with that.

When Sabrina arrived, the girls quickly sat down so that there were only two seats available, each next to Puck. By the time Puck realized what was going on, it was too late for him to move, and Sabrina sat on one side of him, Uncle Jake on the other.

"Grimm." Puck said tensely.

"Fairy boy." Sabrina replied, with absolutely no emotion on her face. The happiness she'd been feeling just minutes ago had completely disappeared.

Daphne, Red, and Bella exchanged pensive looks.

"They're not yelling at each other or calling each other names." Daphne whispered. "That only happens when they're really, _really_ mad. This is going to be harder than we thought."

"We can still do it." Bella whispered back. "We have to."

Granny entered then, carrying a pot of soup and a plate of sandwich materials, and the family began eating with various levels of enthusiasm. Sabrina, everyone noticed, ate even less than usual. She didn't eat much normally, but she always ate something. Today, though, she barely even made a pretense of picking at her food, staring at it morosely, and occasionally making it levitate. Sometimes she looked like she was tempted to smash it into Puck's face.

Puck was almost oblivious to this. He, unlike Sabrina, was shoveling food into his mouth at an even faster rate than he did most of the time. He ate and ate, ignoring everyone and everything but the food, a step backwards from the progress Sabrina and Granny had made in getting him to use utensils. In fact, it seemed like he was eating more disgustingly than ever just to spite Sabrina. He kept eating like that until Sabrina couldn't stand it any longer.

It happened before anyone realized what Sabrina was planning, or could stop her. The pot of soup, which Puck was in the process of dipping his bowl into to refill, suddenly lifted off the table and slammed into Puck's face, drenching him with soup and ending up on his head like a strange hat.

Sabrina stood up while everyone else gaped at her, and she glanced at Puck. "You know how to use a spoon. Use it or eat someplace else."

"I can eat however I want." Puck spat, pulling the pot off his head and dropping it in front of Sabrina, barely missing her toes. "I live here."

"That can change. Easily." Sabrina said, her face like stone.

"Excuse me?" Puck asked, his eyebrows going up.

"You're here by Granny's invitation. _I'm_ here because this is my home. You want to stay here, at least _pretend_ to act like a human being." Sabrina spat. "Because right now your _monkeys_ have better manners than you."

"They're not monkeys, they're chimpanzees, and I have as much right to be here as you, Ms. Maturity."

"Just leave, Puck, all right? I can't stand you right now." Sabrina snapped, turning and walking out of the room.

Puck was left standing in the dining room, dripping soup, with a stunned expression on his face.

"That went well." Jake said. "Got anything else to eat, Mom?"

* * *

Sabrina spent the rest of the afternoon with Uncle Jake, and the two of them got a sizeable living space cleared out. Sabrina kept the belts she'd found, storing them under her bed until a use could be found for them. They threw out a buch of crafts and useless things that Uncle Jake and Henry had made when they were kids, and Sabrina came to the conclusion that no one in the history of the family Grimm had ever thrown anything out since they'd moved to the house. They set up a pile of things that needed to be sorted through, deciding that Granny would be needed to finalize the throwing out of most of the things.

Puck hid in his room for most of the afternoon, only exiting to use the bathroom or eat. He spent the time sulking and nursing his injured pride.

Bella, Red, and Daphne planned how exactly they were going to get Sabrina and Puck to forgive each other.

Their opportunity came right after dinner, before the two teens could escape again. Daphne called Puck to the front hallway, telling him she had something to show him. Red pulled Sabrina after her, asking her to look at a drawing. When the two saw each other, it was too late, and Bella had snuck up behind them, shoving them into the coat closet.

"_HEY_!" Puck shouted. "Let me out!"

"Guys, this isn't funny!" Sabrina called.

The girls giggled a little from the other side, and Daphne called, "You're not getting out until you make up with each other! We'll come back in an hour."

The trio left.

Sabrina sighed and slumped to the floor in the dark. "I hate them sometimes. I really do."

"Seemd like you were pretty buddy-buddy with them to me." Puck muttered, leaning on the furthest wall from Sabrina he could get.

Sabrina sighed again. "Look, Puck." She said. "I know you're mad at me, and I guess I'm sorry for the thing with the soup. But you're acting like a little kid about this!"

"I _am_ a kid, in case you hadn't noticed." Puck said defensively.

"You're the same age as me, phisically, and you're actually what- two thousand?"

"Four." Puck corrected. "Your point being?"

"My point being that I have no clue what I did wrong." Sabrina half-shouted. "I mean, it'd be different if I _knew_ what I _did_, but you didn't _tell_ me, so I can't _fix_ it until you do that!"

"You seriously don't _know_?" Puck asked incredulously.

"_NO_!" Sabrina shouted. "If I _did_ know, I'd try to _fix_ it!"

"You would?" Puck asked, sounding shocked.

Sabrina laughed a little, a confused, shocked sort of laugh. "Yeah I would've. That's what best friends _do_."

"I thought _Bella_ was your best friend now."Puck muttered, getting surly again.

"No." Sabrina said. "Is _that_ the problem?"

"Yeah!" Puck burst out. "I mean, first you tell me that you don't trust me, when I've saved your butt about a bajillion times, then you turn around and tell me you trust _Bella_, who's already proved herself untrustworthy!"

"Is that it?" Sabrina laughed a little, sounding relieved.

"What's so funny?" Puck snapped.

"I just thought it would be something worse than that." Sabrina said. "That's not how I meant it."

"Then how _did_ you mean it?" Puck asked.

"Trust isn't a universal thing." Sabrina explained. "I don't trust you to not pull pranks on me when I'm asleep, but I trust you with my life, because you've proven yourself either trustworthy or not on both counts. Same as I trust Daphne, but not to keep a sectet, because she's shown me that she can't. All I trust Bella about is that she was telling me the truth last night, which, if you'd let me explain, I'd have told you."

"Oh." Puck said, sounding a little surprised. "I never thought about it that way. I guess because nobody ever really trusted me. Not even Mustardseed."

"That's sad." Sabrina said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Puck spoke up.

"What made you trust her?" He asked.

"I've got a new power." Sabrina said. "Which I bet means I'm going to be getting another few soon. I can tell when people are lying, and besides that, Bella gave me an added incentive."

"Which is...?" Puck said.

"Classified." Sabrina finished for him. "And about that best friend thing-"

"Hm?"

"You're still it. But I need a girl to talk to once in a while. I mean, there are things _neither_ of us are going to want to discuss, and I'm going to want someone my own age to talk to about it. Bella's not going to take your place."

"I wasn't worried about that." Puck said.

Sabrina snorted. "Right."

And all went back to normal between them.


	19. Interruptions

**AN~ Finally, on to my favorite of my stories! Updates will be slow because my computer is broken and my dad refuses to buy a new one, meaning that I have to go to his office and use that computer. I'm hoping that if I bother him enough, he'll give in and buy me a laptop.**

**Also: I have mentioned previously that a year has passed since book six. I take that back. It's been a few months. **

* * *

The next day, Charming and Snow were walking surreptitiously through the Grimm's backyard in the rain, when they stopped short because Sabrina was also outside.

This would not be overly strange if not for the fact that she wore no shoes and no raincoat, just a big green hoodie over a pair of jeans.

"Hi." Sabrina said brightly. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Charming looked around at the dreary gray sky, the rippling puddles, the rain and the way it sucked the color out of everything, then glanced back at Sabrina skeptically and said, "Ahhh...no."

Sabrina glanced at him, raising her eyebrows. "You don't like the rain, then?"

Charming shook his head. "Not particularly."

He jumped when the sun suddenly started shining directly over his head, and stared at Sabrina, who was smiling serenely, still surrounded by raindrops.

Snow only blinked a few times before she said, "Can we com in, Sabrina? I want to talk to your family."

"All of us?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow, acting slightly more in character. "That might be hard to do, but we can try."

"Aren't you forbidden from having magic because of an addiction or something?" Charming asked, following Sabrina towards the house.

Sabrina shrugged. "Tell that to my body."

"What?" Snow asked.

"I'll explain during that meeting. I have to tell Bella anyway." Sabrina said, opening the door. "Go in the kitchen, Granny's there. I'll find everybody else."

Snow and Charming shrugged and walked to the kitchen. There they greeted Relda, who directed them to the dining room to wait impatiently as the family Grimm, along with Puck, Red, and Bella slowly filed into the room and seated themselves in chairs or leaned against the walls until Relda instructed them to get chairs from the kitchen and living room.

Once everyone was finally settled in, Granny Relda spoke up.

"Now," She said, "What's this all about?"

"We're here for two reasons." Snow said. "I'd like to talk to you about a school, and Billy-"

"Needs your help." Charming cut in. "But Snow can go first."

"All right, about this school." Veronica said.

"Well," Snow started, "I've had the idea for this for quite some time, and now that we know the public school will be not be opening in time for this year's term-"

"How do we know?" Puck interrupted.

"Intelligence and a lack of faculty being hired." Charming replied.

"I thought intelligence was how smart you were." Daphne said.

"It also means spies." Sabrina explained.

"_Anyway_." Snow said pointedly, "I've approached several other everafters who I know can be trusted that may be interested, and they have all agreed to join me in starting a give-and-take school."

"A what?" Henry asked.

"A give-and-take school." Snow repeated. "It's-"

She was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell. Sabrina stood up to get it, but Jake stopped her with a hand on her chest.

"I'll get it, 'Brina." He said. "School doesn't affect me."

"Thanks." Sabrina said, sitting back down again. "Now about that school."

"It's a private school of sorts, but there isn't a set tuition. You just give the school something it needs. For example, Alice is donating a location." Snow said. "I was wondering if-"

She was interrupted again by a tall, thin, unpleasant-looking woman entering the room. Sabrina and Daphne jumped up in shock, running to the other side of the table and shouting in unison, "Ms. Smirt!"

Ms. Smirt smiled nastily at the girls, then looked at Granny Relda. "I'm here to take the girls back."

"You have no right to do that!" Granny exclaimed.

"Oh yes I do." Ms. Smirt said triumphantly. "For one thing, you don't have custody of them anymore, we established that in the city. Also, they have received insufficient schooling here, and as no new school is to open in town, I am perfectly authorized to take the children back to a place where they will be properly educated."

"Well, if that's the problem," Snow said, "I have the perfect solution. These are the girl's parents, and I'm discussing the plans for the private school I plan to open as we speak."

Ms. Smirt's eyes lit up. "Would you care to tell me about this school?"

Snow opened her mouth to speak, and Ms. Smirt interrupted.

"In private, if you don't mind." She said, pulling Snow away.

"Well, while the intruder's gone," Sabrina said, rushing for Snow's seat at the table and tussling over it with Puck briefly (the fight ended with both of them squished on the chair together, uncomfortable, but satisfied) "I have a bit of news to share with Bella and Charming. Snow should probably be here, but we can fill her in later."

"Fill her in on what?" Charming asked.

"On my being an everafter." Sabrina said hurriedly, getting it out before she lost her courage. She looked at Bella apologetically. "Sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't think I could trust you at first, and then I got in that fight with Puck, then I went outside this morning, and then..."

"It's all right." Bella said, but she looked a little hurt.

Charming, however, was looking at Sabrina like she was crazy. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and fanned out her wings.

"Ow!" Puck muttered, rubbing his head where Sabrina's wings had hit him.

Sabrina looked at him apologetically, then glanced at Charming. "Believe me now?"

Charming stared at the wings. "But... there hasn't been a new everafter since..."

"Dorothy and company." Baba Yaga interrupted. "But when she went to New York City, she had an incident with a fairy cocoon, and it changed her so that she didn't die."

"And why are _you_ here?" Charming asked. "This is an obvious show of choosing sides."

"I chose sides from the moment I put up the barrier." Baba Yaga said. "And when my house is attacked by the other side, I think the Grimms are a little better companions, especially when they have a post-natal fairy."

"Natal?" Daphne whipered to Sabrina.

"Birth." Sabrina replied.

Charming, of course, wanted an explanation, and the adults proceeded to fill in the holes of each other's knowledge while the kids sat back and listened impatiently, as they already knew most of this. It wasn't until Charming started telling them what had been happening that Sabrina started paying attention.

Charming had been sending someone down to the Grimm's monthly since they'd left the town proper a few months ago. So far they had learned that he was setting up a camp for everafter that were either sympathetic to their cause (defeating the Scarlet Hand) or had lost their homes, and that a makeshift army was in the process of being formed, at a speed that drove Charming crazy.

He now explained that Snow wanted to start the school partly because it ws a lifelong dream, partly to give the Grimm girls training the desperately needed if they were going to survive, and as a way to whip the army into shape, since they had gotten absolutely nowhere since the June report.

"So will you join me?" Snow asked, returning to the group after showing Ms. Smirt to the door.

"Well, we still don't know quite as much as I'd like to." Veronica said. "But it sounds interesting."

"Will she let you do it?" Sabrina asked, nodding towards Ms. Smirt's retreating car. "She had the look in her eye that said she was getting ready to destroy your happiness."

"Oh, she'll let me." Snow said. "She has no choice. But she has a few conditions."

"Which are...?" Puck asked.

"I was going to tell you when you interrupted." Snow said, staring at her occupied chair.

Sabrina and Puck untangled themselves from each other and the chair hurriedly, looking embarrassed.

"Anyway." Snow said, sitting down gracefully, "She pointed out that, as there are only six qualified teachers in town, and I plan on having a nine-period schedule, I require at least three more teachers, and since I would like it if several of the students to teach a class which they're interested in, it is necessary for each of the students to take a crash course on teaching before they enter. Her conditions are that she teach that class, and that I run every single plan for the school by her before I put it into action."

"Wait." Daphne said. "She's _staying_ here?"

"That's so unfair!" Sabrina said when Snow nodded. "I thought we were finally _rid_ of her!"

"I know, and I'm sorry, but it's better than New York again, isn't it?" Snow coaxed.

"I guess." Sabrina muttered grudgingly.

"Good." Snow smiled a little, then continued. "Now, the school requires that something be quarterly donated for each person who enters as tuition. That means that you would essentially be paying for four students with supplies of some sort."

"What about me?" Bella asked.

"Your father will be one of the teachers." Snow explained. "That grandfathers you in automatically."

"Wait- you mean the frog prince?" Daphne asked. "Isn't she in the Scarlet Hand?"

Snow nodded. "But all but two of the certified teachers in town are, so I have to hire them. This means that Toby and Natalie will be going to school with you all, too."

There was a collective groan, and Bella whimpered slightly. Sabrina discreetly put a hand on her arm and squeezed it lightly.

"What exactly would you like us to donate?" Granny asked.

"Well, you have books." Snow said. "I was hoping some of them might be textbooks or maybe the sort of thing we could use to make a school library, for one thing. We also need furniture- desks and chairs mostly, but some bigger tables and bookshelves-, people to cook and serve lunches, food, help moving things into the building, at least one maintenance worker, and sports equipment for the gym class."

"We can find four of those things." Granny said thoughtfully. "I can cook and provide food-"

"I can help." Veronica added. "It'll get me out of the house."

"And the books, too." Granny continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted. "We may be able to supply other things, too."

"Hey, if we aren't paying with money-" Sabrina started.

"Actually, some people will be, since we have electric and water bills to pay, as a private school." Snow cut in.

"Well, if _most_ people aren't paying with money," Sabrina amended, "How exactly do the teachers survive?"

"They'll live in the school." Snow said. "It's the apartment building Alice used to rent out to humans, but since there aren't any of them left in town, she's open to converting it into a school, and leaving the top floor for teacher apartments. That's actually why most of our teachers agreed to work for us. They needed money, too."

Granny nodded. "That makes sense. Would we be cooking for them, too?"

"No." Snow said. "They can reheat leftovers."

"Speaking of our donations." Jake put in, "We should probably all help out somehow, maybe take a semester. You never know when a teacher's certification will come in handy."

Snow smiled. "I was hoping you would say that. We're a little short on students, as you might imagine."

"Which brings me to my reason for coming." Charming intervened. "We need more allies. I have no idea what the Scaret Hand is up to at the moment, but-"

"I do." Bella interrupted.

"What?" Charming stared at Bella, as if just noticing that she was there.

"She said she knows what they're planning." Sabrina said.

Charming nodded, inviting Bella to speak.

Bella cleared her throat, blushing a little as everyone looked at her. "Honestly, they're trying to do the same thing you are. They want to make sure they have as many everafters on their side as possible. And the ones they can't convert, they're going to try and eliminate. They really don't want a war with the other everafters. And according to my parents, they won't be ready for a war for almost two years. I heard some of their plans, but I think they know I heard them, so you probably won't get any use out of them."

Charming nodded. "That's useful." When Snow looked at him pointedly, he added hurriedly, "Thank you."

"You're improving!" Daphne said cheerfully.

"Shhh!" Sabrina muttered. "If you draw attention to it, he might do it less!"

"Anyway." Charming said, "That gives us time to prepare. It would be so useful if we could just leave the town to track down the other everafters and convince them to help us, but-"

"I think we can." Baba Yaga said, staring at Sabrina.

Sabrina squirmed as everyone followed Baba Yaga's gaze to her.

"Is there something you'd like to share, Sabrina?" Veronica asked.

"All right, I lied!" Sabrina burst out. "Well, not lied, but- withheld information. That's it."

"And this information is...?" Jake asked.

"I can control barriers." Sabrina said. "I've never tried it with big ones, like the one over town, but if I got a good look at it, I might be able to figure out how to get everafters through. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to leave. Sorry."

"I forgive you," Veronica said, "But I'm not sure your father does."

She glanced at Henry, who was looking rather purple in the face, and Sabrina followed her glance. Something would have to be done about him, and soon.

"This would work." Charming said, nodding. "We could send out a few, ones we trust to come back and help us, tell them to tell the other everafters that we need their help, and that we can offer them something the other side can't offer- a way back out of town. Because we _can't_ let the Hand out of the town. That would be a disaster. We'd also have to send emissaries to Wonderland, Neverland, and the Baumlands."

"We have bargaining chips." Snow said, a smile growing slowly on her face. "Sabrina, you may be the best thing to hit our side for a long time."

"Puck would go to Faerie, of course," Charming said, continuing as if Snow hadn't spoken. "Jake could use that trunk of his to visit the scattered people around the world, maybe with someone for backup- Briar, perhaps. Snow-"

"Hm?" Snow looked up.

"Would you go to the Baumlands? I'd go myself, but you're much more likely to get their support. Pick someone to go with you, whoever you want, but not me, I need to hold down the fort, so to speak. And the Hoods could go to Neverland. Lord knows Robin fits in with those boys well. But what about Wonderland?"

"Alice." Snow said. "And Canis. She's experienced, and he's unshakable."

Charming nodded. "That will work. And we're doing our own recruiting here."

"What about backup for Puck?" Sabrina asked.

Puck bristled. "Who said I need backup?"

"I do." Sabrina said, as if that settled the matter.

"You could be his backup." Snow suggested.

Everyone looked at her.

"It would work." She protested. "They'll keep each other in check, Puck is king, and, last I heard, Sabrina's a bit of an idol there for solving that case, being their king's protector, and reading Veronica's speech."

"Who do you know from town?" Granny asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Hamstead keeps in touch." Snow said airily.

"It looks like we have a plan." Sabrina said cheerfully. "If you'll let me go, that is." She added as an afterthought, looking at her parents.

Veronica nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Snow said, "You'll all need to take a placement test for the school, since everyone's coming from such different education levels. If I were you, I'd start studying now. You've gone almost a year with no school at all."

The kids nodded as everyone started going their separate ways. Sabrina snagged her dad's arm on the way out and pulled him aside.

"I need to talk to you." She said. "Now."


	20. Compromise

**AN~ I rushed to get this chapter in before I left for Alabama.**

**_Kawthar:_ Thank you for your very energetic reviews! They made me very, very happy. Maybe if I share them, my dad'll buy us a laptop, but I don't think so since the government has decided that we owe them upwards of 200,000 dollars. When did we get this money?**

**_1maylee99:_ Thanks for the review!**

**_dr spellwriter:_ Yes I do, and right now she's in dnager of going lame and I feel like it's my fault. Nobody else agrees with me, but...**

* * *

"What is it?" Henry asked brusquely, once he and Sabrina were outside.

Sabrina took a minute to answer, first looking around at the yard, and the rain, until the downpour slowed gradually to a drizzle, which faded away to sunlight.

Finally, once she'd made sure the rain would stay away until after she had done what she had to do, she turned to her dad, grabbed his arm, and leapt off the front porch into the sky, pulling him with her.

"Come with me." She called. "I have something I want to show you."

"It's not like I have much of a choice." Henry muttered, but Sabrina ignored him.

She flew them up, up, up, away from the river, away from the cluster of streets and brownstones that made up Ferryport Landing proper, over the forest, towards the mountain, always up, but never too high, because she was eternally conscious of the barrier glistening in oily colors over her head, beautiful, but restrictive.

After a while, Henry broke into Sabrina's enjoyment of the fresh breeze by asking, "Where are we going?"

Sabrina scanned the mountain, found a nearby beautiful spot that looked fairly dry and comfortable, landed and said, "Here."

"That was convenient." Henry muttered.

Sabrina shook her head. "You're getting as bad as I am. Stop being angry for a minute and look around."

It _was_ a pretty view. The rocks were covered in moss and lichen, with an occasional stubborn wildflower or small tree, all of which were dotted with water droplets from the rainstorm earlier that day.

Sabrina's reverie was, yet again, interrupted by her father's question, "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Sabrina gestured at the view off the side of the mountain. "The view. The sky. How pretty Ferryport Landing looks from up here. The forest."

"I don't want to." Henry muttered stubbornly.

"Why not?" Sabrina asked, thinking ironically that she was being a lot more parental than her father at the moment.

Henry pointed down at the forest floor below them. "See down there? That's where your grandpa died. Killed by one of the everafters we have living in our house. The people you want to stay with!"

"Don't you see, Dad?" Sabrina asked, shaking her head, "I have to stay here _because _of things like that!"

"What?" Henry asked, looking blank.

Sabrina continued patiently, "For starters, Red was insane at the time, and now she's not. But, I have to help them because it wasn't all the everafters that are the reason generations of Grimms died of unnatural causes, and because it's unfair that the very people who don't want us dead are the ones that shouldn't be trapped here, but the barrier doesn't care. But the other everafters are going to fight for ages if something doesn't happen, because the want _out_. And I understand that. You do, too.

"But we have a chance to do something about that. We can make things better for the everafters! Better for everybody, actually. But only if we stay. If we leave, we can't do anything. And you know that even if you leave, mom and Daphne will still go looking for other everafters to help? They'll find them, too. There's no escaping them, they're just more open about it here. And Dad, I _am _one of them now. You'd better accept that soon.

"And Daphne and I aren't babies you can order around anymore. I spent two years without you, and three quarters of that without any adults I could count on. We have brains of our own, and they work pretty well. Daphne's amazing with maigcal things that I still, even now that I'm an everafter, have no hope of learning how to deal with. I don't want to."

"But don't you want to go back to New York?" Henry asked plaintatively. "See your friends again? Not have to run for your life all the time?"

Sabrina laughed bitterly. "My best friend turned me back in to the orphanage, even after I told her how awful it was. She 'thought it would be better' if I was locked up in that heckhole again. And I ran for my life plenty in the city, too, Dad. That's where I got turned _into_ an everafter, for gosh sakes!

"Besides, I need to be a good example for Daphne. I screwed that up pretty badly right before you woke up, and I'm not going to do it again. Running away is the coward's way out, and let _no one_ say that Sabrina Grimm is a coward. I want to show Daphne that I'm a good older sister, one who protects her, but still lets her think for herself, one who's brave, and smart, and thinks before she acts, and knows how to laugh, is comfortable with who she is, can accept what's in front of her face, doesn't lie, and more than anything, doesn't run away when she can do something to help.

"I used to think you were most of those things, once. That was before I found out you lied about my family, history, and a huge portion of who my friends are, now, that you ran away from home, supposedly to 'protect me,' even though your protection has kept me from having a _clue _what I'm doing, and that you won't accept that I have a brain.

"I understand that you're mad about how things turned out, and that you're afraid because your dad died, and you think it's your fault."

Henry started at that.

Sabrina smiled wryly. "I _get _you, Dad. We're two peas in a pod, you and I. But you need to give in. At least give living here a try. They _need _us here. We have stuff that they can use to win this war! Dad, if you take us out, what happens when- _if _Uncle Jake dies? Granny's old. What if she has a heart attack? If we're not in town, then _all_ the everafters get out. Not just the good ones, but the Scarlet Hand, too. There would be no humanity left, other than some slaves. But if we stay, then we can help, and we can keep that from happening.

"Look at this town, Dad. You grew up here. Can you imagine it gone? Nothing left but ashes, a dead forest? The house you lived in most of your life, destoyed, with a fortress for the very people who want you dead built on top of it? I've seen the future, Dad, and it's not pretty. Daphne and I have changed some of it, but if we don't stay, that's what's going to happen."

They were silent for a time, looking out at the town, Sabrina's description of the future overlapping the beautiful summer day in their minds' eyes.

After a while, Henry sighed. "You have a point. Several good ones, actually. I give in. We can stay-"

As Sabrina began to jump in the air in glee, wings unfurling, he continued.

"For now. And go easy on the everafter thing, would you? It's hard to get used to. But if I feel like it's getting too dangerous, I can move us out at any time. After all, you may be older and much more mature, but you're still my daughter, and I still have to take care of you."

"I can deal with that." Sabrina said, landing back on the mossy rocks. "Any other conditions?"

"I have to go to the city with you." Henry replied.

"What?" Sabrina stared. "Dad, Puck and I were going to fly- we can't-"

"You can still fly." Henry replied. "But you're too young to be going on a trip like that by yourselves, and too old to be going with a boy and no chaperone. Besides-"

"Puck may not be very mature, but he's thousands of years old, Dad! And there is _nothing_ like _that_ between us. He's _just_ a friend-"

"The lack of maturity is what worries me." Henry replied.

"He's fine around me!" Sabrina snapped.

"But it will still look bad for the king of Faerie to be running around with a very pretty girl the same age he is without a chaperone, no matter what the two of you say." Henry said, "And I don't just want to go to keep an eye on you. Ms. Smirt made a good point. I need to regain custody of you, and reclaim our car and other assets if we're going to be staying here for a while."

"All right." Sabrina gave in, unfurling her wings. "You win. And not just because of the pretty comment. But let _us_ do the talking to get them to come. You'll probably scare them off. And don't kill Moth."

"I don't believe I have to." Henry said wryly, grabbing Sabrina's hand as she prepared to lift off. "You appear to have plenty of other people to do that for you, if you don't do it yourself, which I believe you are perfectly capable of."

"Got that right." Sabrina laughed, taking off for home.

* * *

Back at the house, Puck waited impatiently for Sabrina to return, wondering what had been so urgent that it had required her to take off so quickly. She hadn't even heard the end of the meeting. And it wasn't like her dad had been acting particularly badly, just his average jerkiness.

When Sabrina and her dad appeared in the sky in front of the house, Puck jumped up and headed out for the porch to tell her what had happened at the part of the meeting she'd missed.

By the time he reached her, though, he was distracted by how tired she looked. He'd have dismissed it as the result of carrying her father to wherever they'd been for so long and back, if it wasn't for her weird energy swings, which he still wasn't sure weren't a sign that something was wrong with her.

He grabbed Henry's free arm and took his weight, deciding that Sabrina was more important than his desire to be as far away from Henry and his dirty looks a possible. Henry, however, nodded approvingly at Puck when he relieved Sabrina of her burden. Sabrina, for her part, glanced gratefully at Puck, grabbing his other outstretched arm and using it as a crutch.

Puck could practically see the energy draining out of her as they neared the house. Once they reached the porch, Sabrina collapsed on the ground as Puck landed gracefully on the top step, lowering Henry more gently than he might otherwise have if it hadn't been for that weird nice thing, but more roughly than he would have if he wasn't worried about Sabrina.

The two males headed for Sabrina worriedly. Puck reached her first. but he didn't touch her, partly because, even though they were friends now, they still remembered what people thought was between them, and partly because he wanted to stay on Henry's newly discovered good side.

Instead he simply looked at her and asked, "You OK?"

She rolled her head to one side and nodded drowslily. "Just tired. Don't tell me the Trickster King actually cares about someone." She quirked a sleepy half-smile.

Puck snorted back. "Of course not. I have no heart, remember?"

Sabrina gave a tired chuckle. "Can I have some food before I pass out?"

Puck looked at Henry, who nodded and went inside to get something Sabrina would enjoy eating. Puck would have gone, but he had no idea what Sabrina found edible. Daphne was much easier to please in that department. Actually, Daphne was much easier to please in most departments. Her last name shouldn't be 'Grimm,' that was too sinister. Grinn fit her better. He laughed a little at that.

"Whasofunny?" Sabrina asked tiredly.

"I was thinking that your sister should be called Grinn instead of Grimm. It suits her much better." Puck explained.

Sabrina laughed, too. "Thazzagooddidea."

Thankfully, Henry appeared as she was finishing her sentence, with a bowl of ice cream, which he handed to Sabrina. Puck reached a finger out, but Henry smacked it back with a glare.

"Get your own food." He muttered. "My daughter's almost passed out, here."

"My best friend knows how to share." Puck said. "Right, Sabrina?"

"Not my ice cream." Sabrina mumbled around her spoon.

Puck made a face, but backed away from the ice cream. Once Sabrina had eaten enough that she looked awake enough to remember what he was saying, he began to tell them what they'd missed.

"You left before the meeting was over, you know." He began.

"It was important." Sabrina said.

"I figured." Puck replied. "And you can tell me what you had to do later, but right now I'm going to tell you what you missed."

"All right." Henry nodded for him to continue.

"Snow picked her partner for the trip to the Baumlands, as everyone's calling Oz and Ix and all those places. It's Daphne."

Sabrina spewed ice cream all over Puck's sweater. Puck glanced at it, then up at Sabrina, his eyebrows raised. Sabrina blushed, then composed herself. Henry just sort of gaped.

"Veronica said it's all right." Puck continued, wiping off Ice cream stains and licking them up, which made Sabrina blanch, "But Daphne has to be careful and check in every night. And they decided that we're leaving the day after tomorrow, so that you have time to figure out just how to get through into the outside world. Because if you can't do that, we're screwed. That also gives us time to pack, and those of us that the Scarlet Hand's watching time to set up good excuses as to where we'll be."

"And this excuse is...?" Henry asked expectantly.

"I have no idea yet." Puck replied. "But Charming's working on it. I leave the thinking to people who enjoy that sort of thing. Which reminds me, Grimm, I need you to tutor me."

"_Me_?" Sabrina asked, licking the last of her ice cream off her spoon.

"Yes, you." Puck said. "Bella can't stand me for that long, Red won't teach me anything, and Daphne gets sidetracked too easily. Besides, I want to get up to your grade level."

"Starting from first and getting up to seventh in a month and a half is going to be kind of hard." Sabrina said dryly.

"Why don't you have an adult teach you?" Henry asked.

"They won't put up with him, either." Sabrina said. "Plus, this was, we can make sure we're at the same level."

"Exactly." Puck said. "And we can get help if there's something that we don't get, or that she can't teach."

"And we can start in New York." Sabrina said.

"Why not now?" Puck asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I've got to pack and figure out how to get us out of here right now, like you just told me, remember?"

"Oh." Puck blushed. "Right."

Sabrina stood up. "I've got to wash this. And I want to talk with Daphne."

"About what?" Henry asked.

"About how she has to promise to tell me _everything_ that she sees in Oz, and some ideas I have for getting them on our side." Sabrina responded, not turning around.

Puck raised an eyebrow and followed Sabrina into the house, wondering what she mean by her ending comment. Henry followed, too.

"Daffy?" Sabrina called upon entering the kitchen. "Where are you?'

Daphne poked her head out of the living room. "Here. What's up?"

"I heard you're going to Oz." Sabrina said, dumping her bowl in the kitchen. "Congrats."

"Thanks." Daphne said warily. "Anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, actually." Sabrina said. "But not about being careful."

Daphne blinked. "What?"

"I figure Dad'll read you the riot act on that." Sabrina said dryly. "So I might as well concentrate on giving you my ideas for getting them on our side."

"Which are...?" Daphne asked.

"Giving them back their witch and wizard." Sabrina said.

"Excellent idea." Baba Yaga said from behind Sabrina, who whirled around at the sound.

Baba Yaga continued without blinking, "But you can discuss that later. Right now, we are going to work on getting through the barrier."


	21. A Big Misunderstanding

**********AN~ I am in Georgia, on my Uncle's netbook, and I have learned that I like my computers bigger. This thing makes me feel claustrophobic. On another note, we are the 59th most popular book category on the site.**

* * *

Sabrina and Baba Yaga made as little noise as possible as they made the journey through the woods to the section of the barrier by Charming's camp. They sat uncomfortably in Baba Yaga's house, Sabrina chewing on a granola bar and trying to sway along with the house's footsteps, Baba Yaga keeping a careful eye on Sabrina to make sure she didn't head for any of the magical items scattered everywhere. Sabrina, however, seemed to be concentrating entirely on her food.

When they finally reached the fort, and the nearby shimmer of pearly light that signified the barrier, Baba Yaga tapped the wall next to her, and the house settled down to ground level. Sabrina hopped out as quickly as possible, trying to get away from the stench that Baba Yaga seemed not to notice.

She was met by Snow, Charming, Robin Hood, and a pretty woman she'd never met before.

"Uh... hi." She said. "I wasn't expecting... I mean..."

The woman whose name she didn't know stepped forward. "I'm Marian Hood, Robin's wife. I assume you're Sabrina?"

Sabrina nodded, and realized that it didn't bother her that Robin was married anymore. That was helpful. Having a crush on Robin had been a setback, and now that she was over it, it was a little embarrassing. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." Marian smiled. "I've heard about you. Anyway, we're here to show you to the barrier's exact location."

"Why would you have to do that?" Sabrina asked, pointing, "It's right there!"

The adults stared at her.

"You can see it?" Robin asked.

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah." She looked around at the surprised faces of the grown ups and asked, "...Is that weird or something?"

"I am the only one I have ever met who can see it besides you." Baba Yaga said from behind her.

Sabrina jumped and spun around.

"Don't _do _that!" She protested.

"Do what?" Baba Yaga asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Sneak up behind me." Sabrina said, blushing a little as Robin laughed.

"I apologize." Baba Yaga said. "Why did you not tell me you could see the barrier?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I guess I sort of figured it was an everafter thing. ...Except they wouldn't, would they? Because Puck ran into it that one time and- Yeah. I'm done." She shut up when she ralized that she was rambling her way closer to an extremely uncomfortable moment in her life.

Baba Yaga shook her head and asked, "Shall we begin?"

She led the way to the barrier, with Sabrina following close behind, with the other adults behind them. Sabrina wondered what they were doing.

Once they reached the barrier, Sabrina turned to Baba Yaga expectantly.

"Well?" She asked. "What do I do?"

Baba Yaga shrugged. "I have no real idea. This has never been done before. If I were you, I'd treat it like one of those bubbles you're so fond of. See what happens."

"That's helpful." Sabrina muttered.

"Concentrate." Baba Yaga replied.

Sabrina spent the next few minutes staring at the barrier in hopes that it would offer some mysterious solution to the problem, but she kept getting distracted by everyone else's stares. She finally gave up.

"I can't do this with them there!" She protested to Baba Yaga. "They're as bad as my family with staring." She looked at the adults. "Seriously, people, if I get out, I get out. Your staring won't make any difference."

"She has a point." Charming said. "And I, for one, would like to return to the relative comfort of the fort."

The adults, minus Baba Yaga, turned and headed back for the walls of Fort Charming.

Sabrina sighed and turned back to face the glowing wall in front of her. Now that no one was staring at her, she could focus her attention entirely on it. She put her hand against it, realizing that it even _felt_ like a normal bubble. The only thing that was unusual about it was that she couldn't pop it.

But she didn't want to do that, did she? Because if it popped, then the Scarlet Hand could get out, and wasn't that what she wanted to stop?

So, how else did you get on the other side of a bubble?

You made yourself like it!

Sabrina grinned. "I've got it!"

"Good." Baba yaga said. "Explain."

"Well, we don't want to pop the bubble, because that would let everybody out, right? So we have to get through it without popping it."

"I know that already." Baba Yaga interrupted.

"Well, I was explaining my train of thought." Sabrina said. "If you don't want to know, I'll just shut up, and you can deal with it."

"No, no, I apologize." Baba Yaga said. "Please continue."

Sabrina smirked. "To get through a bubble without popping it, you have to coat yourself in the same stuff the bubble is made of. In this case, magic. But we can't just go dip ourselves in magic, so we'll have to have me make an identical, smaller barrier around the person who needs to get out. And if _that_ barrier can move, they should be able to walk through that barrier without popping it or being stopped!"

Baba Yaga nodded. "That is a very good idea. Shall we test it out, or would you rather return to your home?"

"Let's do it now." Sabrina said. "If there's something horrifically wrong with my idea, then I'd rather know now."

"Very well then." Baba Yaga said. "Go ahead."

Sabrina nodded. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back from the barrier and concentrated on its exact makeup; copying it in a smaller form around herself. She'd never done anything this big, and it was tiring. But finally, after what seemed like ages, the barrier formed an orb around her. She took a few tentative steps forward, discovering that walking inside of a ball that repelled your very existence was extremely difficult, and approached the barrier. This was the moment of truth.

Her private barrier bumped against the full-sized one, and the two did what most bubbles would, forming a flat line that got bigger the closer Sabrina got. That wasn't good. If that happened, she'd end up with a very skinny space and no way out.

But once she was so close she was practically touching the big barrier, her small one started to bulge out, forming the more traditional orb shape. She took two last steps forward, and she was through!

She popped her small barrier, letting the energy flow into the original, and instantly regretted it, as she immediately started feeling tired.

But she stepped back through to Baba Yaga's side, and grinned at her sleepily. "It worked!"

Baba Yaga nodded. "I can see that. However, next time, I suggest you attempt to draw the energy back into yourself, instead of allowing it to seep into the remaining barrier. It will leave you less drained."

"That's a good idea." Sabrina said with a nod.

"Now let's get you back to my house." Baba Yaga said, turning and heading for the chicken-house. "I know I said I'd allow you to fly there, but I don't relish returning you to your family in the state you will be in if you don't rest soon. They are immensely protective of you, you know."

Sabrina shrugged, following her. "Can you blame them? I'm kind of accident-prone."

* * *

Sabrina hadn't thought she'd be able to sleep in the moving chicken-house, but she surprised herself by falling asleep without even realizing it, only aware that she'd been asleep when Baba Yaga shook her awake in the driveway.

"I may be able to stand your presence, girl, but I am _not_ carrying you inside." Baba Yaga said irritably. "Now get up and let my house inside."

"Does able to stand my presency translate into you like me in your language?" Sabrina asked drowsily, standing up and stretching. "And why not? I don't weigh much."

"It does not." Baba Yaga said without looking at Sabrina, as she left the house. "I believe I am incapable of enjoying human company."

Sabrina rolled her eyes as she followed Baba Yaga outside.

"You do weigh entirely too little." the old hag continued. "I believe your friend might be right."

"That she's anorexic?" Bella asked from the front porch. "Yeah, I think she is."

"When was who talking about this?" Sabrina asked, watching the house turn back into its chicken form and run through the open front door.

Puck, who was holding the door, answered her. "Bella and I were discussing it earlier today. The Radiator must have overheard us."

"The radiator?" Sabrina asked, raising an eyebrow and stepping through the door, which Puck was still holding. "Are you insinuating that Baba Yaga's eavesdropping through the heating system? Thanks for holding the door, by the way."

"No." Puck said. "It's a really backward nickname that Jake and I came up with. we were playing around with her initials, and Jake decided to translate them into Greek, since he was eating a ceasar salad-"

"But Ceasar was Roman." Sabrina objected.

"So maybe I'm getting my dead languages confused." Puck said, letting the door slam shut behind them, much to Bella's chagrin. "But he came up with Beta and Gamma, and since those are both forms of radiation, and she can really heat up a room when she's mad, she's the radiator."

Baba Yaga, who had stepped through the door before them and heard the explanation, laughed. "I approve, boy. Now come, anorexic child, your grandmother has saved us some food."

"Were we really out that long?" Sabrina asked, following 'The Radiator' to the kitchen.

"Yeah." Bella said, shooting Puck a glare. "You missed lunch with your dad, and dinner with her." She pointed at Baba Yaga. "So I spent the day being pestered by your boyfriend."

Sabrina and Puck both turned matching shades of red and shouted in unison, "We're _not_ dating!"

Bella snickered. "That was adorable."

"Come, eat." Baba Yaga said sternly. "Prove that you are not mentally deranged, as your family seems so apt to believe."

"I don't think they think I'm anorexic." Sabrina said, sitting and avoiding looking at her food, a hunk of something brown streaked with lime green.

"That was one of the things they discussed." Baba Yaga said. Seeing Sabrina's blank look, she elaborated, "Yesterday, when they were discussing therapy because of your reaction to your fight with the boy."

"What is this?" Sabrina asked, staring from person to person in the room, ending with Uncle Jake and Daphne, who had just walked in. "You guys don't seriously think I'm anorexic, do you?" She looked imploringly at her mother as she crossed from the dining room to the kitchen.

"Well, you don't eat much, Sabrina." Granny said, following Veronica into the room with a pile of dirty dishes.

"Are you kidding?" Sabrina said in shock, staring at the crowd that had formed around the table. "You seriously think I'm anorexic."

Red nodded and whispered. "They do."

"But you don't right?" Sabrina stared at the little girl, begging her to side with her.

Henry's hand on Red's shoulder stopped her for a minute, and Red finally answered. "I- don't know."

Sabrina looked around at her family. "But- but you guys saw me eat today. Dad? Puck?"

Puck wasn't looking at her.

"Prove it, then." Henry replied. "Eat your dinner."

Sabrina stared at the disgusting food on her plate, then up at her family, then back at the food. "I... can't." She said at last.

"Ah-hah!" Granny said. "You _are_ anorexic!"

"No, it's not that!" Sabrina said. "It's just..." She continued in a whisper, "I don't like Granny's food."

"What's that?" Jake asked. "I didn't hear you."

Sabrina sighed. "I don't like any of Granny's food, it makes me feel sick. I just never said because at first I was too uncomfortable with Granny to say anything, and then I didn't want to hurt her feelings, and nobody else seemed to mind, so I figured I'd just not eat, and then we'd all be happy." Sabrina said.

Eeryone in the room stared at her.

"Is that it?" Daphne finally asked.

Sabrina nodded.

Puck was the first one to laugh, but most of the rest of the family soon joined in.

"That's just sad." Bella said, shaking her head. "I can't believe we all got so worked up over nothing!"

Jake wiped his eyes. "Reminds me of the time that I called Frau Pfefferchekenhaus a hag, and Morgan Le Faye thought I was talking about her, and it took Hank _hours_ to explain what I was talking about!"

"Oh, speaking of names," Sabrina said, "I meant to ask you earlier, have you come up with a nickname for Bella? Or Red, for that matter?"

"I'm leaning on frog legs for Bella." Puck said.

"No thank you." Bella said.

"How about Frenchy?" Jake suggested. "Isabella's a French name, right?"

"That works." Puck said. "But I'm calling her fries if she makes me mad."

"What about Red?" Daphne asked. "She's the only one without a nickname, now!"

"I dunno." Sabrina said. "Do mom and Dad have them?"

"Your father is Hank, or scary man, depending on who you ask." Veronica said. "I don't think I have one, though."

"Ronnie." Jake said. "Don't you remember? Red can be..."

"What are some other shades of red?" Daphne asked.

"Scarlet, burgundy, rose, magenta- well, sort of, not really- pink, bloodred, garnet, ruby, auburn, fushia..." Sabrina trailed off. "How 'bout it? Any nicknames coming out of there?"

"I like Garnet." Red said shyly.

"Only problem is, it's longer than your actual name." Puck said. "How's net?"

"Sounds too basketball." Jake said. "Garn sound like a grandma... Would you settle for Ruby?" He turned to Red. "They're much more valuable."

"All right." Red smiled. "I like rubies."

"Ruby it is then." Daphne said.

Sabrina yawned. "Well, now that that's settled, I think I'm going to eat something, then go to bed. When are we leaving, again?"

"The day after tomorrow." Veronica supplied.

"Good." Sabrina said, getting up and walking to the fridge. "That gives me time to finish that talk with Daphne and pack." She opened the refridgerator door. "How long will we be gone, about?"

Puck shrugged. "A week? Two at most, I think. My mom might make me stay longer. I kind of bailed on her last time."

"Won't she try and make you stay?" Sabrina asked, pulling a leftover box of pizza out of the fridge. "Why did no one tell me we had pizza?"

"I was hiding it." Henry said shamefacedly. "I don't particularly like some of your granmother's recipies, either, and it's what I used to do when I was a teenager..."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Well, as punishment for not sharing, I herby comandeer your comfort food." She pulled the last two slices out of the box, placed them on a plate, and popped the plate in the microwave.

She leaned on the counter for a little while, then realized something. "Hey, anybody else notice that we've been acting like an normal family tonight?"

"When do we not?" Puck asked, feigning surprise.

"Most of the time." Daphne said matter-of-factly. "But that's what makes us awesome, so it's all right."

The room dissolved into laughter again, and most of the family petered out, back to whatever they'd been doing before Sabrina returned home and they decided to confront her.

After the crowd had left, only Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck were left in the room. Sabrina munched on one slice of pizza, and offered the other to Daphne, who turned it down.

"I _like_ Granny's food." She said.

"I'll take it." Puck said, reaching for the slice.

Sabrina held it away. "_Mine_."

"Easy." Puck protested.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Daphne asked, averting the fight she felt blooming.

"Oh, right." Sabrina said. "My secret plans."

"Dun dun dun." Puck said dramatically, and they were laughing once again.


	22. Preparations

**AN~ Briar appears in this chapter. I'm not one of those people who can't accept that she's dead, but since this story is pre7, I figure I'll take advantage of it to bring her back to life. RIP Briar, you live on in fanfiction!**

**_Kawthar:_ I wrote two in as many days! If I update any faster, I don't get any reviews for one of the chapters! **

* * *

"So what is your master plan, anyway?" Daphne asked, once she was done laughing.

Sabrina shrugged. "It's not really a master plan. Just some ideas."

"I'm listening." Daphne said, sititng down.

"Well, I was thinking that wer don't _need _all these people to fight with us. It'd be enough to just have them promise not to join the Scarlet Hand. But they have no reason to do that, so we should probably think of something that would convince them we're the side to fight on."

"Such as...?" Puck raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for the ones we _do_ want to come back with us, we can offer them a way out, and-"

"That gives us the double advantage of an incentive to keep you safe, too." Puck interrupted.

"Which is good." Daphne grinned. "Sabrina's a little accident prone."

"And it might even make the other side think twice before killing her, because she can get them out if they get her on their side." Puck grinned. "I like this plan."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself, you know."

"No, you can't." Daphne said. "Neither can I. We might have been able to, but since Dad locked us away from magic, we're seriously behind on the whole training thing."

"Anyway." Sabrina said. "I don't know what the people in Oz might want, but I figured we might be able to figure it out with a little brainstorming. Any ideas?"

Daphne shrugged. "Well, they're missing their 'good' witch, and their wizard. And I know for a fact that Oz wants to go back. Glinda probably does, too."

Sabrina nodded. "That's a really good idea. Nice job."

"Thanks." Daphne smiled. "And the same sort of thing would probably work with Wonderland."

"Neverland, too." Puck said. "The lost boys have been missing their villans."

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked. "I thought you _hated _them."

"Just their leader." Puck said. "And Hook was gone when I was there, and they missed him then." Puck said. "I assume, since he's still in town, they still miss him."

"Wait a second- you were there?" Daphne asked. "You went to Neverland? When? Why didn't you tell us? What happened? What was it like?"

Sabrina, who'd been watching Puck, saw the look on his face, and put a hand out to stop Daphne.

"That's enough." Sabrina said. "He's got a good reason or he'd have told us."

Daphne stopped and looked closely at Puck. "Sorry. Hey, are you all right?"

Puck nodded tersely. "I'm fine. Let's change the subject."

"Good idea." Sabrina said, licking off her fingers. "But I guess we'll tell everybody else our idea tomorrow. Or when we leave. Whenever."

"Yeah." Daphne agreed.

Silence.

"What do we change the subject to?" Daphne continued.

Sabrina yawned, and Puck supplied the answer.

"Bedtime." He said. "And how it's past yours, Masrhmallow."

"Why do _I_ have to go to med when _Sabrina_ yawns?" Daphne complained.

"You don't." Puck said with a shrug. "You can stay up as late as you want. But Sabrina is going to bed now, and I'm going to my room, now that I've finished hearing your sister's not-so-amazing plan."

"What is this?" Sabrina asked. "First off, how do you know I'm going to bed, and second, what happened? You were being nice, and now-"

"I can only be so nice." Puck said. "I mean, I'm trying, but once I reach the niceness quota, that's it. And you're predictable. You yawn, you sleep. I prank you, you lose your temper. It's the facts of life."

"He's right." Daphne said. "You _are_ predictable."

Sabrina made a face. "I am _not_."

"Yes you are." Puck said. "Ask anybody, they'll say the same thing."

"I disagree." Sabrina said. "And I _will_ prove you wrong."

"I knew she was going to say that." Daphne told Puck.

"So did I." Puck agreed. "'Night, Marshmallow, Grimm."

"Goodnight, Puck, goodnight, Sabrina. I love you." Daphne said, hugging them both."

Sabrina hugged Daphne back.

"Goodnight, both of you. Love you too, Daphne." She said, heading for the stairs. "And we'll see about the predictability tomorrow."

"What?" Puck asked." Don't I get a hug?"

Sabrina leaned over the dorway, smirking back at Puck. "Sorry, jerks don't get hugs."

* * *

The next morning, Sabrina woke up to a banging directly over her head.

"Whadaheck?" She muttered, throwing back the covers.

She clambered out of bed and poked her head into the hall, careful not to disturb the still-sleeping Daphne. Across the hall, Bella was doing the same thing.

"What's that?" Bella asked.

Sabrina shrugged and jerked her head toward the open staircase to the attic. "Dunno." She said. "But we can find out."

The two walked to the end of the hall and up the staircase, joining Red on their search for the source of the banging. Once they were in the attic, Sabrina led the way toward Uncle Jake's corner, where the noise was coming from. As she'd suspected, the noise originated from a hammer. However, Uncle Jake was not holding it. He was holding a board on the ceiling.

Hammering that board into the ceiling post was Briar.

Sabrina blinked several times. "Hey!" She said. "You're here early!"

Brair turned, putting the hammer down with a smile. "I know, but it's my day off, and I met your uncle at the hardware store, and once he told me what he was doing, I offered to help."

"What were you doing at the hardware store at six in the mornig?" Bella asked skeptically.

"One of our coffee makers is malfunctioning. Buzzflower thinks she can fix it herself, so she sent me for the part. We needed it fixed in time to take care of our customers, so..."

"Briar?" Jake asked. "Can you finish nailing this in? My arms are getting tired."

"Oh!" Briar said. "Right!" She picked up the hammer, wrapping a hand around Jake's arm. "But you're big and strong enough to hold that up, aren't you?"

Sabrina passed a hand over her eyes. "Oh, please. Come on, guys, let's go downstairs before they get _too_ romantic."

She turned around and saw that Red was already heading down the stairs.

She grinned. "Got the right idea, eh, Red?"

Red turned and smiled, then headed down the stairs, Bella following. Sabrina was about to join them, when she remembered her conversation from the night before.

"Oh!" She said. "I almost forgot! Briar, Uncle Jake, do you two think I'm predictable?"

Jake looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah."

Sabrina made a face. "Briar?"

"Pretty much, Sabrina. Sorry."

Sabrina sighed and headed down the stairs. Two points for Puck and Daphne.

Puck was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Well?"

"Well what?" Sabrina asked.

"What's the noise?" Puck clarified.

"Briar's helping Uncle Jake redo the attic so that he can live there."

"Live there?" Puck raised his eyebrows. "Do you guys have an extra bathroom and a kitchen, too?"

"Shut up." Sabrina muttered, walking past him down the hall.

Puck just grinned and followed her. "You're in a wonderful mood. They agree with me about your predictablility?"

"Yes." Sabrina muttered.

Puck grinned. "That's four of us that say you are, and you that say you aren't. Nice nightgown, by the way."

Sabrina looked down at her nightgown. It was a frilly thing that she only wore when all her other pajamas were unavaiable, long, white, and victorian-era looking. She decided that she'd make a concious effort to be inpredictable and do the exact oppsoite of what Puck would espect.

"Oh, I know, right?" She giggled. "Isn't it so _classic_? I just love it!"

Puck's jaw dropped. "What was that?"

Sabrina smirked. "Not so predictable, now, eh, snotbrain?"

Puck growled at her, running to catch up as she turned into her room. He caught the door as she shut it.

"That was _not_ cool." He glared.

Sabrina smiled serenely. "Hey, you're the one who said I should be less predictlable."

"No, I said you _are_ predictable." Puck said. "I didn't say you should stop! I like that you're predictable. It makes it easy to know what you'll do next."

"Well, I want to be _un_predictlable." Sabrina said. "And if this poll we're conducting says I am, then I'm going to fix that. Now let me get changed out of this _disgusting_ nightgown."

Puck grinned. "That's more like it. See you downstairs."

"Maybe not." Sabrina said, closing her door. "I might pack first."

Inside her bedroom, Daphne was still asleep, even through the constant banging of the hammer. Sabrina shook her head, smiling dryly. Daphne wasn't exactly the queen of spontaneity herself.

She quickly changed from her nightgown into shorts and a t-shirt, then set about packing for a two-week stay in New York.

Once she'd gotten together the necessary amount of day clothes, she realized that she had no bag, no pajamas, not enough underwear, and no toilettries. She was muttering to herself as she made a list of what she needed when Daphne woke up.

"What's 'toilettries'?" Daphne asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Bathroom stuff." Sabrina muttered absently. "Good morning, by the way."

"Morning." Daphne said, rubbing her eyes. "Two questions: what's that noise, and what's for breakfast?"

"Briar and Uncle Jake are redoing the attic, and I have no idea." Sabrina answered. "I haven't been downstairs yet."

"But it's-" Daphne looked at the clock, "-almost ten! How have you not been downstairs yet?"

"I woke up, went to see what Uncle Jake was doing, came back here, got changed, and packed." Sabrina said. "That's how. I was about to go down when you woke up. I need to find an extra toothbrush."

"Sure." Daphne said, getting out of bed. "I need to eat breakfast."

"I'll go downstairs with you." Sabrina stood up, grabbing her list off the desk.

The two girls went downstairs and entered the kitchen. Daphne immediately sat down at the kitchen table, but Sabrina headed for the breadbox and pulled out a slice of bread, then popped it in the toaster.

"Morning, lieblings." Granny said. "You're up late."

"Actually, I've been up." Sabrina said. "Uncle Jake's pounding is pretty hard to sleep through."

"I slept through it." Daphne said. "But I had dreams with elephants in them. Good morning, everybody."

Henry smiled at her, then looked back at his newspaper, Veronica nodded absently, then returned to staring out the window, and Puck grinned at Daphne through a mouthful of yesterday's pancakes, which Daphne immediately grabbed a stack of. Sabrina's toast popped up, and she grabbed it, bouncing it between her hands to the butter and jelly, then placing it on the counter to grab a knife.

"Does anybody know where I can find a duffel bag?" She asked, buttering her toast.

"Hall closet." Granny said. "Top shelf, on the left."

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "And there's clean laundry in the dryer, and I'll get my toiletries after I take a shower an brush my-"

"Uh, Grimm?" Puck asked. "Do we _care_?"

Sabrina finished with the butter, wiped her knife off, and began spreading jelly on top of it on her toast. "No. I'm thinking out loud. It helps me plan."

"Well, at least you know how to make your miniscule brain work." Puck said.

Sabrina began to snap back at him, then shoved her toast in her mouth before she could say something she'd regret.

Once she was done chewing, she swallowed and said, "Do you guys think I'm predictable?"

Veronica nodded again without looking up. Puck and Daphne smirked. Henry shook his head. Sabrina smirked in return as her sister's face fell. The three kids turned to Granny expectantly.

"No." Granny said. "You change to quickly for me to predict how you will act."

Sabrina shoved her toast in her mouth again to keep from gloating too much. Once it was finished, she washed the jelly off her hands and headed for the hall closet to find a bag.

She opened the closet door and sighed. The closet was a huge mess. She pulled a box out, clambered on top of it, and started rooting around for a bag. She finally found them, stuffed in the very back of the top shelf, with a ton of things on top of them. She tugged on the first one she saw, pulling until it came out, bringing most of the contents of the top shelf down with it, all of them on top of her.

By the time she'd pulled herself out from under the immense pile of junk, a crowd of people had formed around her. Puck came up and helped pull the rest of the stuff out from on top of her, laughing as he did so.

"Nice job." He snickered.

"Oh, shut up." Sabrina returned., taking his offered hand to pull herself up.

"When you clean that up, liebling," Granny said, "leave out a bag for your father and sister, that way we won't have that happen again."

Sabrina made a face. "What is this? Nobody even asked me if I was all right. It's just, 'clean up your mess, Sabrina'!"

"Are you OK?" Red asked sweetly.

Sabrina smiled. "Thank you, yes I am."

"See?" Bella asked. "That's why we didn't ask. You are."

"But some concern would be nice." Sabrina muttered, sorting three duffel bags out of the mess on the hall floor.

"I knew you'd say that." Puck grinned.

"Wonderful." Sabrina said. "Anyone else think I'm predictable, while you're all here?"

Bella and Red raised their hands. Daphne grinned and mouthed, 'we win.' at her. Sabrina rolled her eyes and set about picking up stuff on the floor. Puck leaned down and helped her as the family petered back to wherever they'd been beforehand. The two spent the next several minutes cleaning up, and the top shelf looked marginally better once they were done.

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled at Puck.

"No problem." Puck said. "I'm just glad the Old Lady doesn't want me to pack anything."

"Aren't you going to?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shook his head. "I'll just put something relatively clean on before we leave."

"Good idea." Sabrina said. "And speaking of clean, I'm going to go take a shower."

"You do that." Puck said, backing away. "I'll go... avoid cleanlieness..."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, grabbed her favored bag, dragged it upstairs, deposited it in her room, and then took her shower. Afterwards, she grabbed shampoo, conditioner, a towel, her toothbrush, an unopened bar of soap, and a hairbrush from the bathroom and brought it upstairs to her room, where she finished packing.

"You done yet?" Daphne asked, coming into the room with a sandwich in each hand.

"Yup." Sabrina said. "Why?"

"Because it's one-thirty, and I made you a sandwich."

"Thanks!" Sabrina said, grabbing the sandwich.

She big into it and smiled. "Mmm. 'Sgood."

"I made your favorite kind." Daphne smiled.

"Thanks." Sabrina grinned through her sandwich. "is this your way of saying you forgive me for real?"

Daphne nodded. "Food is my love language."

Sabrina grinned. "I noticed. I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore."

Daphne shrugged. "Well, you've been good. But I'm still watching you."

"I'll try and still be good." Sabrina said. "Hey, have you noticed that mom's been awfully distracted since she woke up?"

Daphne thought for a second. "Now that you mention it, yeah. I wonder why."

Sabrina shrugged. "We can try and find out when we get back."

"Why not now?" Daphne asked.

"Because we'll have more time when we get back." Sabrina explained. "I mean, we can start now, but we're leaving tomorrow morning, so I figure..."

Daphne nodded. "That makes sense. All right. Once we get back."


	23. Through the Barrier

**AN~ And back the next day! Sorry in advance for all the cliffhangers, but I wanted to try the many mini-plots thing out, and most of the next chapter will focus on Puck and Sabrina's adventures in Faerie.**

**_DevilWearsConverse:_ Thank you for your review to my other story! It made me very happy.**

* * *

Very early the next morning, the small group that was leaving Ferryport Landing had gathered with the people come to say goodbye at the barrier near the fort, as far from Scarlet Hand eyes as they could get.

Sabrina, Puck, Daphne, and Henry were all lumped together on the magic carpet, not looking quite awake. Sabrina was siting on her duffel bag, chewing on a granola bar. Puck and Daphne were genuinely asleep, leaning on each other and drooling. Henry sat tensely in the center of the carpet, holding tightly to Sabrina and Daphne's clothes.

"Seriosry, Dad," Sabrina said through a mouthful of granola bar, "We'be rirren on thish thing before. We're not going to fall off."

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Henry replied.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and swallowed. "Hey, is that Alice from Wonderland?" She asked, pointing at a brown haired girl wearing a blue dress and holding a cat carrier who looked to be around Daphne's age.

On the ground next to the carpet, Bella nodded. "But don't let her age fool you. She's smart, and she's tough. Ran her own apartment building through the Cheshire Cat before all the humans got run out of town. And before she found out the Cat was part of the Hand. Haven't seen him since he went to ask her to join."

Sabrina grinned."Sounds like we'll get along. Do you think I should wake Daphne up to meet her?"

Granny shook her head. "Let her sleep. You'll all be traveling together for a while, anyway. Wonderland's nearest entrance is due west of New York City, and since Daphne and Snow can't fly, you'll all be taking the carpet."

"I assume Puck and I are flying?" Sabrina asked dryly. "The carpet's big, but not _that_ big."

Granny nodded. "And you'll both be carrying as many bags as you feel comfortable with."

"I can do that." Sabrina agreed. "Two should work, if we stop for food once in a while."

"Right." Granny said. "You should reach New York by this evening, you can all stay in a hotel tonight, and tomorrow Snow, Daphne, Mr. Clay and Alice will go on. The Hoods can borrow some of Puck's pixie dust to get to Neverland tonight. Sabrina, you'll have to make sure it isn't cloudy, otherwise they won't be able to make it. Alice and Mr. Clay should make it to Wonderland by tomorrow afternoon, and Daphne and Snow should reach Oz the next morning, if the carpet goes full speed."

"Hey, where exactly _is_ Oz?" Sabrina asked.

"Somewhere in Texas." Bella said. "Don't worry about it. The Carpet knows the way, don't you, sweetheart? Yes you do! Yes you do!" Bella dissolved into baby talk, rubbing the carpet fondly.

"That's enough!" Sabrina muttered. "It's not a dog."

"She's right, you know." Granny said. "You'll spoil it if you don't stop."

"All right, people!" Charming called. "It's time for you all to head out!" He leaned over, kissed Snow on the cheek, and continued, "We're counting on you to get us allies! Now get going!"

"Wonderful pep talk." Sabrina muttered, shaking Daphne and Puck. "Wake up, guys. We're leaving."

"Already?" Puck mumbled. "What time is it?"

Henry looked at his watch. "Six. Now get off the carpet so we can load everyone's luggage."

"Goodbye, _lieblings_." Granny said, giving each of them a hug and a kiss. "Safe trip! I'll see you in a week or two!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Puck said, wiping the kiss off his face. "Let's just get going, all right?"

The group said their goodbyes, and Sabrina set about getting them through the barrier one at a time, starting with the carpet and ending with herself. Once they were all through, Sabrina sat down on her duffel bag and pulled another granola bar out of her pocket.

"Shouldn't we be leaving?" Alice asked.

"In a minute." Sabrina mumbled. "I just dragged you through the barrier, along with five other everafters, not counting me, _and_ a magic carpet. I'm a little tired."

"Hey." Alice said, realization dawning on her face. "You're that Grimm girl, aren't you? Sabrina? The one my cat hates! You're an everafter!"

"Yeah, but only for about a month now." Sabrina said, shoving the last of her granola bar into her mouth. "Awright. We can go now."

She grabbed her duffel bag and her father's, then took off, hovering in the air while Puck grabbed Daphne's bag and Alice's cat carrier, and everyone else piled onto the crowded carpet. Then they were off!

They flew for most of the day in silence, high in the sky, above a low cloud bank helpfully provided by Sabrina, only stopping for food and bathroom breaks. Once they reached New York, the group landed behind a hotel, where Henry helpfully reserved two rooms.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, looking at the two adjoining rooms once they had deposited all their things.

"It's going to be a little tight." She muttered.

"Well, don't forget, we're leaving as soon as it's dark." Robin said, ruffling her hair.

Puck bristled. "It's dark now." He said, pulling out his flute and playing a short tune. Once the pixies arrived, he said, "Dust them, would you? They've got to reach Neverland by tomorrow morning."

The pixies complied, and Robin and Marian lifted off the ground, zooming around the room lazily. While they were doing that, Sabrina cleared the clouds from the sky, revealing the stars and a full moon. The Hoods flew off into the distance while the group waved goodbye.

"All right." Daphne said. "Now who sleeps where?"

After fifteen minutes or so of debating, they decided to split up into boys and girls, with Sabrina and Daphne sharing a bed, Alice on one couch, and Snow on the other bed in the girls room, and Puck on the couch, with Mr. Clay and Henry on a bed in the boy's room. Then they all settled down to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sabrina woke up when Snow shook her on the shoulder.

"Can you wake your sister?" Snow asked. "I can't get her up, and we need to leave soon. Alice is already on the carpet, and the boys have finished breakfast!"

"Sure." Sabrina muttered, rolling over.

She grabbed the covers, yanked them down to the foot of the bed, and whispered in Daphne's ear, "Get up or they'll leave without you."

Daphne sat bolt upright. "They will _not_!" She shouted. "That's not funny, Sabrina!"

"I never said it was." Sabrina said. "But they might have. Snow couldn't figure out how to get you up, and we're on a schedule here. Now get dressed and come downstairs with me. This place has one of those breakfast bar things- the all you can eat ones."

Daphne got dressed in record time, and half an hour later, Mr. Clay, Alice, Snow, and Daphne were off again, with a small, stubborn cloud set underneath them by Sabrina, and the remaining three were off to Central Park.

When Henry saw the statue, he gaped.

"_This_ is the headquarters of the Faerie kingdom?" He spluttered.

"Hey, it's better than Fae's headquarters." Puck said. "That looks like a shack from the outside. I think it's in Canada someplace."

"Jake's going there, right?" Henry asked.

Puck nodded while Sabrina looked on blankly.

"What's Fae?" She asked.

"It's the counterpart fairy kingdom." Puck explained. "It's where Moth is from, she's the daughter of Queen Mab. She's staying with us as part of some treaty, the one that sent my sister away."

"Sister?" Sabrina asked.

"Peaseblossom." Puck said. "She's older than me by about a century, and she's _horribly_ bossy, but I did _not _want to see her married to Mab's son. But she's a queen now, which Dad would never have let happen, and I guess she's happy, even if it was an arranged marriage. I actually haven't seen her since we moved to New York City from England."

Sabrina shook her head. "You're going to have to explain all this history to me later. I feel really out of the loop. Knock knock."

She disappeared.

"Tell the statue a knock knock joke." Puck explained to Henry. "It's the way in."

"Thanks for that, but I just wanted to see that you got here safely." Henry said. "I have to go try and get custody of my daughter. Meet you here at five?"

Puck nodded, and Henry left.

"Knock knock." Puck said.

Sabrina was suddenly visible, leaning against the statue.

"Who's there?" The statue asked with a smile.

"Lettuce." Puck said.

"Lettuce who?" the statue returned.

"Lettuce come in, it's cold outside." Puck finished.

The statue started cracking up with laughter. "That's a good one, Puck!" He grinned. "I missed you."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow.

Puck shrugged. "I feel bad for it. Everyone's always starting a joke, but they're all too busy to finish it. Come on, let's go in."

The two turned, and together, they entered the Golden Egg, completely surprised by what they saw there.

* * *

Robin and Marian Hood reached Neverland at sunrise. They landed in the mermaid lagoon, and were met by a host of angry merfolk, who thought Robin had come to spy on them. The couple had to leave quickly, running for the lost boys' cave. They finally reached it and jumped down one of the many entrances, landing, exhausted, in the lost boys' kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" A girl asked.

"Hello, Jane." Marian said. "We're here to talk to you all. Where is everyone?"

"Asleep." Jane said. "Would you like some breakfast? I can make something, and you can tell me what's going on."

"I'll help." Robin winked at Jane. "It must get hard, cooking these big meals all by yourself."

"I'll help, too." Marian said, grabbing two makeshift aprons off a hook on the wall. "But how about you tell us about Neverland right now, and we tell you about the normal world once the boys are up."

"Aw, come on." Jand pouted. "I almost never get any information in advance. Please?"

Marian laughed. "All right, if you finish telling us about what it's like here before they wake up."

They spent the next hour or so cooking and hearing about the exploits of the lost boys over the past century or so. Not much out of the ordinary had happened. The boys had been up to their old tricks, and Peter still hadn't been able to choose between Tiger Lily and Jane. Wendy stopped by to visit about once a year, John and Michael closer to once every ten years. Wendy's not-an-everafter husband had died some time ago, and she was single and wishing she'd never grown up. Peter was sorry, but still not interested in growing up to join her. They all missed the pirates, and wanted some adventure.

"Well, we have an adventure we can offer you." Marian was saying when the lost boys began piling into the room with a chorus of 'Breakfast! Visitors! Fun! Hooray! Etcetera...'

"What's this about an adventure?" Peter asked. "Hi, by the way."

"Hi." Robin said. "have you guys heard about the Scarlet Hand?"

Peter nodded. "Michael explained about it, said it's coming back. What about it?"

"They're starting a war against humanity, and any everafter that doesn't agree with them." Marian said.

"We're here to ask you if you want to join us in a fight against them." Robin said. "There's a good chance you'd get to fight against Hook."

Peter grinned. "What say you, boys? You want to fight Hook and his men again?"

The boys let out a collective whoop.

Jane grinned. "Oh, this'll be so much _fun_! Do you want to ask the Indians if they want to help, Peter?"

Peter nodded. "And your mother. Michael and John, too!"

"Let's go!" One of the lost boys called.

"After breakfast!" Jane shouted. "I spent all this time cooking, we are _not _letting it get cold to go on an adventure!"

The boys looked properly chastised, and sat down to eat.

* * *

Alice and Mr. Clay reached the Wonder Woods right on schedule. Mr. Clay headed straight for the entrance, and Alice, still toting her cat carrier, spent about half an hour searching for him before he came back, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the rabbit hole.

"How do I get in?" Mr. Clay asked. "I don't believe I'll fit. You cat carrier's kind of large, too."

"Just jump." Alice said. "It gets bigger for you."

To demonstrate, she jumped down the rabbit hole, pulling the cat carrier after her. Mr. Clay shrugged, following her down. After the first squeeze, it _did_ get much wider, and much odder. He decided to just focus on Alice, because this cave was just a little too odd for him.

Once they reached the bottom, Alice led him on a roundabout route through Wonderland, stopping at practically every place someone lived and asking the to meet her at the Capital Castle.

Finally, they reached the castle, where Alice prepared to make her speech to all the Wonderlanders from the six kingdoms; the cardlands and the chessboard.

* * *

Daphne and Snow had traveled the whole day and night, and the next morning at dawn, they woke up to the sight of a vast desert below them, with a spot of yellow in the distance.

"See that?" Snow asked, pointing at the yellow spot. "That's the land of the Winkies, the eastern part of Oz. We should be there by breakfast time."

And they were. They landed the carpet in the Tin Woodman's castle, and he invited them to stay for breakfast while he telephoned the Emerald City, so that Ozma could call up a meeting of everyone and they could meet the guests.

So Daphne and Snow ate breakfast and explored the wonders of the Tin Woodman's castle while waiting for the meeting to be called.

* * *

Jake and Briar were traveling the world, stopping at one spot, then the next, everywhere that Jake knew there was an everafter. Some said they'd join their cause, others said they'd need to think, and some said no, they were joining the Hand, tired of Humans. But still, they'd gained a surprising number of allies by the time they'd finished with Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, at the end of the first day. Most of them had traveled straight back through the chest to Ferryport Landing, especially once they heard that they could get out again.

That night, they slept in Briar's home country.

The next morning, they were off again, going to the two poles, South America, and ending in North America. The last place they visited was also their worst defeat.

Fae's queen had flatly refused to even see them, proudly displaying a flag decorated with a red hand on a black background. She'd sent them a message that if they wanted to see her, it would be on a battlefield in her hometown, fighting for her daughter's honor, as well as the rights of all Fae.

Jake and Briar returned home, trying not to be too dejected by their last defeat, attempting to think of all the everafters they'd convinced to join them, but it was hard, and somehow, they felt their two days had been a waste, despite all the good they'd done.

* * *

Henry spent his morning at the orphanage, regaining custody of his daughters and spinning a ridiculous story of how he'd been kidnapped by members of an evil organization scattered throughout the U.S., planning to take over the world. He explained that he was a member of a rival organization that was attempting to keep them from succeeding, and how, since his wife was planning a big movement, the other organization had kidnapped them. His mother, also a member of the organization, had recently rescued him, and he had only just now been able to come and regain his possessions.

The story was so out there, everyone believed it couldn't possibly be a lie. He regained custody of his daughters by lunchtime, and spent the afternoon at the police station, regaining his possessions.

It was a long, arduous process, but by five o' clock, he was back at the Golden Egg, in full posession of a car packed with everything he owned.


	24. Around the World

**********AN~ Most of this chapter is pretty pathetic, but I can't really make it better.**

******_Kawthar:_ All right, but once I'm not in the same house as a computer again, my update rate will decrease.**

* * *

Alice took a deep breath. The entire populace of Wonderland was standing in the clearing in front of her, in the very space she had played croquet on the day she became an everafter, waiting for her to give them a speech.

"Hello, everyone," she said.

There were muttered greetings from the crowd in return.

"Have you all heard from the outside world recently?" She continued.

Shouts of assent returned in reply.

"And have they asked you to join the Scarlet Hand?" She asked, glancing at Mr. Clay to see if she was doing this correctly.

He nodded as the crowd shouted that there had been Scarlet Hand recruiters in the area.

Alice turned back to face the crowd. "Well, I'm here to ask that you not join them. In fact, you should avoid these everafters at all cost."

"Why?" The March Hare asked. "Why should we listen to you and not them?"

"Because I can bring back your people." Alice replied.

"Which ones?" The Duchess asked.

"For starters, the Cheshire Cat." Alice said, displaying the cat carrier. "He's in here because he's been bad, but if you want him back..."

The crowd began muttering among themselves.

"I can bring back the Hatter, too, and the card soldiers." Alice said. "Maybe even more people, if you give me time."

The crowd continued to mutter.

Clay stepped forward. "We'd also seal off most of the entrances to your land, of course, and open up a new one in Ferryport Landing. No one would get in unless you wanted them to."

He didn't mention that this would also keep people from getting out into the outside world.

Alice waited a few minutes, then said, "Well? Is this acceptable?"

The King of Spades stepped forward. "We find this arrangement suits us perfectly. There have been far too many drop-ins to Wonderland in the past two centuries."

"Really?" Alice asked. "Who?"

"Aside from you?" The Knave of Clubs asked. "No one, really. But one is enough for anybody."

Shaking her head at the brains of the Wonderlanders, Alice let herself be led to all the known portals in and out of Wonderland, which, over the next several days, she and Mr. Clay sealed up all the entrances except one, a mirror which they reconfigured so that it opened into Mirror in the Grimm's house. After they did this, they returned home and waited for the others to come back.

* * *

Marian and Robin had finished their powwow with the Indians successfully, and, after Peter attained a large supply of pixie dust- no one asked where it came from, they didn't want to know- the crowd was heading back to Ferryport Landing.

Once they completed the long journey to the town, Marian and Robin returned to the fort to introduce Charming to the Indian chief. The two had a short meeting, and without further ado, the indians set up their teepees in a semi-circle around the back door of the fort.

The slowly developing army was surprised when, the next morning, all the remaining inhabitants of Neverland appeared, carried by the free pixies, who, through Peter, explained that they were all here to fight against the Scarlet Hand, which had begun burning Neverland shortly after the others left. The Pixies had escaped with some of their more treasured possessions and all the inhabitants, and they were eager to fight. Charming accepted them with grace, and they quickly began expanding the fort.

* * *

Daphne and Snow were in the Emerald City, preparing for their meeting with Ozma. Daphne wore a pretty dress borrowed from Dorothy, and Snow wore one of Glinda's left-behind gowns from when she and Oz had left to explore the wide world.

"Enter." A girl's voice called from behind the big doors.

Daphne and Snow walked through the big doors, both of them unnaturally subdued by their grand surroundings. Inside the grand room, a collection of people were seated at a table, at the head of which was a beautiful young girl.

"The Tin Man says you have business with us." The girl said. "What is it?"

"Are you Ozma?" Snow asked.

The girl nodded. "And this is Dorothy, her aunt and uncle, the Shaggy Man, the Wogglebug, Tik Tok..."

As she continued through the table, Daphne's hand crept closer and closer to her mouth until she was biting down on it hard.

"Is there something wrong with you?"Dorothy asked.

Daphne pulled her hand out of her mouth and shook her head. "I just do that when I'm excited."

Snow gave her a look. "Anyway, may I explain why we're here, your majesty?"

"Just Ozma is fine, and go right ahead." Ozma smiled.

"Thank you." Snow smiled. "We're here to ask you if you would please, if anyone from an organization called the Scarlet Hand comes here with a proposal for you, please turn them down. We can offer you something you want in return."

"Why should we do this?" Ozma asked. "What have you to offer?"

"We can keep people from finding your country." Snow suggested.

Dorothy shook her head. "The forgetful desert surrounding our country keeps that from happening."

"We could..." protect you from the Scarlet Hand." Daphne said.

Ozma shook her head. "We have no need of that.

Daphne and Snow looked at each other.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Snow asked.

Daphne shook her head.

"Well, if you can't offer anything we can use, I'm afraid we can't agree to this." Ozma said.

"Who ever said they had nothing to offer?" A voice from behind Sow and Daphne asked.

Daphne and Snow turned and gasped.

"It's the wizard!" Dorothy shouted.

She and the other girls ran for Oz, and Daphne had to remind herself that they didn't know the Oz she did. The wizard in the books was good, and kind.

"Ozma," The wizard said, pulling her back, "These people have brought me back. I have been in the Scarlet Hand for several years now, and they could not bring me home, what I wanted more than anything. They could not bring Glinda back, either, but I don't doubt that these people can bring her back to you, too. I advise you to, at all costs, avoid the Scarlet Hand."

"Thank you." Ozma said, turning to the others. "I accpet your proposal. What do you wish us to do in return for our wizard?"

"Stay here, and keep all those from the other magical nations in your area inside your kingdoms." Snow said. "We ask nothing more than that you stay out of our wars. In return, we will do our best to bring Glinda back to her home, and the Scarecrow, too."

"I accept." Ozma said. "You may return to your home successful."

* * *

Sabrina and Puck gaped at the full-blown party inside the Golden Egg. Streamers were hanging from every available surface, the room was full of people, and a big banner hung from the ceiling, stating, "Welcome Home, Puck!"

Sabrina stared. "Did _you _tell them we were coming?" She asked.

Puck shook his head.

At that moment, Mustardseed appeared. "Welcome back, brother!"

"Hi..." Puck said. "What's all this?"

"Your birthday/welcome home party!" Mustardseed said. "You're four thousand today! Congratulations!"

Puck smaked his forehead. "I'd completely forgotten. Happy birthday, Mustardseed!"

"Wait-what?" Sabrina said. "It's _both_ your birthdays?"

Mustardseed nodded. "We're twins, didn't you know?"

Sabrina shook her head. "Bozo here isn't very forthcoming with personal information."

"You never asked." Puck said. "And I figured that, if you didn't care, I wasn't going to offer."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Of course I care. But I didn't want to pry. And after the whole incident last time we were here, I figured it'd be better if you told me when you felt ready."

"Well," Mustardseed interrupted the budding argument, "I believe that, once your birthday party is over, Puck, you'll need to explain to Sabrina, and you can tell Mother and I why you're here."

"Right." Puck said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hide from the people..."

Mustardseed grabbed his arm. "No you don't. These people haven't seen you for a decade, and I know someone in particular who's missed you."

"Who's that?" Sabrina asked interestedly.

"Just an old friend." Puck said, spotting someone in the crowd. "Nobody interesting."

"Don't be like that." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "They _have_ to be interesting if you hung out with them. Besides, I want to meet your friends."

"Perfect timing." A voice said from behind her. "You just have."

Sabrina turned, seeing a pretty girl around her own age, with long black hair and pale skin. She was thin, shivered constantly, and carried a box of matches in her left hand.

"Way to stop by and see me last time you were here." The girl said. "I didn't even know you were back until your brother asked if you'd come by. Heck, I didn't even know you'd _left_ until Mustardseed told me!"

Mustardseed grabbed Sabrina's arm and pulled her away.

"Let's let them sort it out on their own, shall we?" He asked.

"Sure." Sabrina said. "Who was that, anyway?"

"The Little Match Girl." Mustardseed said. "She's always been sort of infatuated with my brother, and they were good friends before he left. She's not particularly happy with him at the moment, though, so you're not seeing her good side."

He gave the match girl a soft look, and Sabrina grinned.

"You poor thing." She said. "Everybody always notices Puck first, even though you're right behind him, doing all the work."

Mustardseed shrugged. "Oh well. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done it, too."

Sabrina grinned. "Well, he does go out of the way to get people's attention."

Mustardseed smiled back. "I think it's because Father rarely noticed him unless he was doing something loud, obnoxious, and/or bad. He needs a lot of attention, and he acts out to get it."

"And you just sit in the background." Sabrina said softly.

"I don't mind." Mustardseed said. "I get a lot more done when not everybody has their attention on me."

"But you deserve it." Sabrina said. "Puck never did _anything_ productive until he moved in with us, and you've been working all your life."

"But I live in a family full of people who need the spotlight." Mustardseed said. "Someone needs to give a little, and none of the rest of them will, except Peaseblossom when she's in a good mood. Besides, I'm the youngest, and destined to be at the end of the line for everything."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Mustardseed, you're trying to get rid of most of those stupid old traditions, take that mindset along with it!"

"My mindset does nothing to Oberon's will." Mustardseed said. "Puck got the kingdom, Titania got their personal posessions, Peaseblossom got quite a bit of money, and I got the leftovers."

"Trying to convince him to take the spotlight for once?" Momma asked from behind the counter.

Sabrina nodded and sat down, swivleing her chair. "He won't listen, though."

"Never does." Momma said. "Honestly, sometimes I think he's afraid of attention. Whatcha want to drink, sugar?"

"Surprise me." Sabrina said.

Momma raised an eyebrow. "You never struck me as the kind to say that."

Sabrina shrugged. "I'm trying to prove to Puck that I'm unpredictable."

"How is our illustrious king?" Momma asked, mixing something up under the counter.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Slightly more mature than he used to be. Still annoying. Still a jerk. Still my best friend."

Momma let out a barking laugh, putting a drink down on the counter in front of Sabrina. "Must not be much to choose from in that town of yours, then."

Sabrina shook her head, sipping her drink. "Nope, most people anywhere near my age hate my family's guts. Kinda puts a damper on friendship."

"I can imagine." Momma said. "How's the drink?"

"Mmmmm." Sabrina replied.

Momma's laugh was cut off abruptly when she said, "H-hello, your majesty."

"Hello, Momma." A cold voice said from behind Sabrina.

Sabrina turned, already knowing what she'd see.

"Hello, Titania." Sabrina said.

"Sabrina." Titania strained her mouth to form something that could maybe be thought of as a smile- if one had a _very _good imagination. "Thank you for bringing my son back home. It's the best birthday present you could have given him."

Sabrina glanced at Puck, who was still arguing with the Little Match Girl. "Doesn't look like he's having such a great time to me."

"But he will soon. He'll get settled into kingship, maybe even grow up, let Mustardseed grow a little, too, have a nice, normal life..."

Sabrina laughed. "Sorry, I don't think that'll ever happen. For starters, I've never known an everafter to have a normal life. Plus, I don't think he's staying."

"What?" Titania asked.

"Well, you can ask him yourself, but..." Sabrina trailed off as Titania stormed towards her son.

Sabrina, Momma, and Mustardseed watched as Titania pulled Puck away from the Little Match Girl an started muttering at him angrily.

Sabrina shook her head and laughed. "Poor guy. He just can't win."

"Well, I think you're about to get your own earful." Mustardseed said. "Look who's coming over."

Sabrina turned to look where Mustardseed was pointing. The Little Match Girl was headed straight for her, an unreadable look on her face.

"Hi." She said, once she reached Sabrina.

"Hi." Sabrina said.

"I don't think I ever introduced myself." She said. "I'm Renee, the Little Match Girl. From the Hans Christian Andersen story. And you are...?"

"Sabrina Grimm." Sabrina said. "I've used some of your matches."

Renee smiled. "They're quite popular. Expensive, though. I wish I could make more of them at once, but the materials are _so_ hard to find. I don't believe I've heard your story."

"It's not documented." Sabrina said. "I'm the multiple greats granddaughter of Wilhelm Grimm."

"Oh, so you're a human." Renee said. "I'm surprised. Puck doesn't normally mingle with the... less-than-powerfull."

Sabrina ignored the jab at her reputation. "Well, maybe he's changed."

"Not that you should exactly be an ordinary human anymore." Mustardseed interjected.

Sabrina glared at him. "You _knew_ about that? A little _warning_ might have been nice!"

Mustardseed shrugged. "I didn't know until recently, and I had no way of contacting you. Once you left, I started researching, because it's such a rare occurrence."

"What are you two talking about?" Renee asked.

"Just something that happened the last time I was in Faerie." Sabrina said.

"Oh." Renee said. "On the subject of Puck changing, I don't think he has."

"Why not?" Sabrina asked.

"Because he hasn't changed at all in the three centuries I've known him." Renee said.

"Well, he has in the time I have." Sabrina said.

"No offense, but I don't think he has." Renee said. "He doesn't change, and I think I know him a little better than you do. You've known him what, a year?"

"Less, actually." Sabrina said. "But he _has_ changed."

"How?" Renee asked.

"He's nicer, more mature, and less irritating." Sabrina said.

"He told Mother he was leaving last time." Mustardseed said. "Granted, it was the day he left, but do you blame him for not giving more notice?"

"Not really." Sabrina said. "Considering what I know about your mother."

"True." Renee said. "But I still don't think he's changed."

"I have something to prove it." Sabrina said. "He came back."

Mustardseed smiled at Renee. "She's got you there. He never would have before, not of his own free will. Last time he was in a fever-induced coma."

Renee made a face and decided to change the subject before she lost the argument too badly. "Why _did_ he come back?"

Sabrina gave her a simple one-word-answer. "War."


	25. In Faerie

**AN~ I MISS MY UNCLE'S LAPTOP! And his Mac. I want a computer in MY house again! But I'll deal with it. My update rate will slow down a lot, though.**

* * *

"Oh, good." Renee said. "I thought it was something serious, like an engagement."

Sabrina stared. "You think war is less serious than an engagement."

Renee nodded, then stopped. "Oh, wait." She said. "You were _serious_?"

Sabrina nodded. "I don't really joke. Especially about stuff like that."

Renee blinked. "You mean you're the girl who's taken my place, and you don't _joke_?"

"Not really." Sabrina said. "I do sarcasm, but that's about it."

"How can you be dating Puck and not joke?" Renee asked.

Sabrina colored. "He told you _what_?"

"Oh, he didn't tell me that." Renee said. "He didn't have to. He doesn't admit it when he is. Lord knows he never did for me."

"That's because you _weren't_ dating, Renee." Mustardseed interjected. "And neither are Puck and Sabrina, am I right?" He looked at Sabrina for confirmation.

Sabrina felt an odd sense of relief. She told herself she was just glad Puck hadn't lied to her, and decided to move on before she thought too much about it. Some things she just wasn't ready for.

Sabrina nodded. "Not now, not ever. We're best friends, that's _all_. And best friends don't fall in love."

Renee snorted. "Then I'm glad I'm not his best friend anymore."

Sabrina a rolled her eyes. "I don't think he's interested. I mean, he's growing up, but he still won't touch me because he thinks I have cooties."

Renee stared. "Cooties?"

Sabrina nodded.

Renee grinned. "That's so _adorable_! I knew there was a reason I loved him."

"Well, you can have him." Sabrina said. "I'm not interested. But like I said, I don't think he is, either. Maybe you should look for someone a little more mature..." She glanced at Mustardseed meaningfully.

Renee never got a chance to reply, because Puck came up and sat down in the chair next to Sabrina.

"Can we get this over with and get out of here as fast as possible?" Puck asked. "My mother won't shut up."

"Doesn't want you to leave, does she?" Sabrina smirked. "Sorry about that. I told her."

Puck made a face. "That was cruel." He said.

Sabrina shrugged. "It's payback for not telling me about any of your friends or anything. And why is it that every time I come here, someone else thinks we're in love?"

"Dunno." Puck shrugged. "But it's not just here. If I had a quarter for every time your sister told me we were made for each other, you wouldn't owe me anymore."

"I don't owe you." Sabrina said. "I think writing on my face with a sharpie is payment enough."

"Hey, I was bored!" Puck protested. "And I've been good recently!"

"That's just because I can get you back now." Sabrina said, sipping her drink. "What is this anyway, Momma?"

"Everything nonalcoholic." Momma said.

"Anyway," Puck said, "About getting out of here fast..."

"Right." Sabrina said. "Did you tell her that we want to take her back with us?"

Puck shook his head.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "That might have shut her up, you know."

Realization dawned on his face. "That would have worked, wouldn't it?"

"Wait-" Mustardseed interrupted. "What's this about mother returning with you?"

Sabrina started. She'd forgotten he and Renee were still there.

"Umm... Puck?" She asked. "You want to explain?"

Puck shook his head. "You brought it up. You explain."

"Thanks." Sabrina stuck her tongue out at Puck, then turned to Mustardseed and Renee. "All right, you know the war I mentioned? It's between the Scarlet Hand, you remember, right Mustardseed? The group we kept obsessing over last time we were here? Well, they want to kill all the humans and take over the world, and a bunch of other everafters don't want that to happen, so we're trying to get an army of human protectors together to keep the everafters in town, and we figured, Faerie has one of the largest everafter populations outside of Ferryport Landing, and Puck's their king... technically... so let's look here for allies!"

Mustardseed blinked. "I have a feeling it gets a lot more in depth than that."

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. There's also the whole aftereffects of the cocoon, Charming's grand plan for the war, and everything that's been happening in town. But Puck can explain all that to you. He's much better at offering an unopinionated point of view."

Puck made a face and said, "Not now, I don't want to do this more than once. Let's go get my mother. Hey! Maybe we can interrupt the party to explain what's going on, and then I won't have to be social! ...That is, if you don't mind, Mustardseed."

Mustardseed shook his head. "I'm fine."

Sabrina grinned. "We're all a bunch of antisocial freaks."

"I'm not!" Renee protested.

"Oh, are you still here?" Sabrina asked noticing her again. "Sorry, I forgot."

"That was rude." Renee glared.

Sabrina blinked. "It was, wasn't it? Sorry."

Puck snickered. "Was that genuine, Grimm, or were you messing with her?"

"That was real." Sabrina said. "_HEY!_ Titania!"

Titania looked up, and worked her way through the crowd to the four..

"What do you want?" She asked.

"To tell you why we're here, since Puck was very unsmart and forgot. He's going to make it up to you now, but he didn't want to yell." Sabrina smiled sweetly at Puck.

"All right." Puck said, pretending to not be at all irritated by Sabrina. "Mom, there's going to be a war between the Scarlet Hand and the everafters who like humans. I'm on the save-the-humans side, and we're here to try and convince everyone to come back to Ferryport Landing with us and fight on our side, because we're _majorly _outnumbered at the moment."

"And why would we come back and get trapped in that tiny little nowheresville?" Titania asked.

"Because I can get you out again." Sabrina said. "The Scarlet Hand's going to try to recruit you, too, but the only way they can get you back out is if my whole family's dead, and we're kind of hard to kill."

Mustardseed blinked. "You can?"

Sabrina nodded.

"I think we should go with her, Mother." Mustardseed said. "Or at least let Sabrina and Puck share their proposal with everyone else, as they're here already, and everyone in Faerie is here."

Titania thought for a minute, then finally relented. "Very well, you two. I'll get their attention, and you can give your speech."

She led the way to the stage in the back corner of the restaurant, with Puck, Sabrina, Mustardseed and Renee following.

"Speech?" Sabrina muttered to Puck. "Do you have anything prepared?"

Puck shook his head. "But they all love you, so they'll listen."

"What?" Sabrina asked, watching Titania shoo the musicians away from the stage.

"Don't you remember how they reacted when you gave your mom's speech?" He asked. "I saw you at the end. You weren't just reading, and they knew it. You and your mother are both pretty much heroes to them."

Sabrina blinked. "I'm not sure if that bolsters my confidence or makes me so nervous I want to hide..." She muttered.

"You'll be fine." Puck said. "You always are. Of course, most of the time it's because I save you, but I'm here to do that now, so if you mess up..."

"Your confidence astounds me." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Hello, everyone!" Titania shouted. "May I have your attention?"

The room, which had already been half-turned towards the stage because the music, stopped, quickly silencing itself. No one messed with Titania. She could be nice... if you were on her good side. But if you did something she didn't like... Well.

"Thank you." Titania said. "Most of you are aware that my son was here around Christmas and left shortly after that. He and one of the members of the family he has been staying with are here today, and have something to say to you."

She gestured for Puck and Sabrina to walk onto the stage, which they did.

"Hey, people!" Puck shouted. "Miss me?"

The crowd grumbled a little.

"Well, I'm not really going to talk much anyway, so that's all right." Puck grinned, unfazed by the crowd's cold response. "Sabrina's much better at the speech-making thing, so I'll let her explain all about the war and how the Scarlet Hand is trying to take over the world."

The crowd gasped and stared at Puck, but clapped for Sabrina when she came forward.

"Umm... Hi." Sabrina said, waving. "I know Puck said I'm better at speech-making, but I've only ever really made like, three, and one of them was to my dad, and the other one was the one my mom wrote that I read to you."

She had to stop talking for a minute when the crowd cheered in memory of her mother's speech.

"But I'm going to try and tell you this stuff anyway." Sabrina said. "But bear with me if I mess up, all right? Thanks."

The crowd mumbled their assent.

"All right." Sabrina took a deep breath. "So Puck already told you that the Scarlet Hand wants to take over the world and either kill or enslave all the humans. Now, to some of you, that might seem like a good idea. Honestly, there are plenty of humans I'd like to get rid of, too. But there are plenty of good humans, too. Like my mother. Like my grandmother, and my sister. I can't count myself among the good humans anymore, but there are others, too. And a lot of the humans that they want to enslave are just... ignorant. It's not their fault that they don't believe in you. They've been raised in a world that believes magic is ridiculous, one that's even starting to turn against religion in favor of reason. Now, we all know that's ridiculous. But is it fair to kill those people just because they don't know any better? Are everafters that are prejudiced against humans any better than humans who are prejudiced against everafters? Isn't murder still wrong?"

The crowd shouted that it wasn't right.

"Good." Sabrina smiled. "I'm glad you agree with me. Now that I've got you on my side, for the most part, anyway, I'm going to tell you what we want you to do. See, the Scarlet Hand plans to kill my whole family to get out of Ferryport Landing and take over the world. That includes my mother, who spent ten years of her life here, helping you all."

The crowd began shouting in outrage.

Sabrina yelled over them. "Fortunately, we have friends in the town, and they aren't going to let us die without a fight. This brings us to the war Puck mentioned. Because the Scarlet Hand is not going to let anyone be neutral in this war. Their philosophy is pretty much 'whoever isn't for us is against us'. So they're going to attack anyone who isn't on their side. You guys are everafters. Would you just let your home, your business, your _life_ be destroyed by these people? No! You'd fight back, right?"

The crowd shouted their assent.

Sabrina smiled grimly. "I thought you would. So will the people of Ferryport Landing. Which means there will be a war. Our sources say that this won't happen for at least two years, because neither of our sides is anywhere _near_ ready, but the Scarlet Hand is still more ready than we are, and they have so many more everafters on their side, it's terrifying. We'll be destroyed if we don't get some more allies. Which is why I'm here. We'd like it if you'd join us in Ferryport Landing and fight on our side."

"Why should we do that?" One of the seven Dwarves, Mr. Three, asked.

"Because, for one thing, several of the people you all used to know are stil there, stuck inside. You could see Snow and Seven again, Mr. Three. Another reason is that there are no longer any humans in Ferryport Landing. They've been chased out by high taxes as a result of the Scarlet Hand. Honestly, as much as I hate that they've chased these people out of their homes, I'm almost glad. It's better for them to be out of harm's way, and now the everafters can be themselves, which is why Ferryport Landing was established in the first place. A third reason is that I can get you out again."

The everafters let out a collective gasp.

Sabrina nodded. "I'm sure you all know about the Barrier. Well, I have... something... that can get you through it again, once an everafter is inside. It's how Puck and I got here this time. It was a Christmas present, but no one knew what it did, otherwise I probably never would have gotten it. The Scarlet Hand can get you out of the Barrier if me, my mother, my father, my grandmother, my uncle, and my little sister are dead, and soon, Briar Rose. You _will_ be getting involved in this. Do you really want to kill a seven year old , an old woman, the woman who helped you all, and one of your own princesses to get out of that place? I mean, it's your choice, but I hope you all have better hearts than that. I hope to see you all here with us when we return home. The Empire State Building will be puple when we leave. We'll give you time to pack your things up. Say... two weeks?"

She glanced at Puck, who nodded, then looked quickly at Mustardseed, who nodded in turn. Puck looked back and nodded at Sabrina again.

Sabrina laughed a little, then turned back to the crowd. "All right, people, thanks for your time. I hope to see you all in two weeks. Now go back and enjoy your party!"

The everafters cheered as she left the stage. Puck walked forward.

"Well, you heard her." He shouted. "Let's party!"

The musicians reoccupied the stage, and soon the party was in full swing again. People kept coming up and congratulating Sabrina, telling her that that was a wonderful speech, especially for an impromptu one, that she was a wonderful person, that they would see her in two weeks. Mustardseed finally saw that she was overwhelmed, and Puck, too, was being pressed about by people who wanted him to do something for the kingdom, or elaborate on what Sabrina had said, so he pulled the two of them out of the crowd and into the royal rooms behind the restaurant proper.

"_Thank_ you." Sabrina said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to pass out, there were so many of them."

"You're a celebrity." Puck said jealously. "Now I remember why I hate parties."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Relax. I don't like it any more than you do. But it should get them on our side."

"You did a nice job out there." Mustardseed said. "Two weeks should be plenty of time.

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "I hope Dad has enough money for us to stay in that hotel for a while."

"Hotel?" Mustardseed saked. "Of course not. You'll stay here, naturally. We still have your room, Puck. And Moth's is free at the moment, and I'm sure we have a guest room available for your father, Sabrina."

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "Hey, what time is it?"

Mustardseed glanced at a clock on the wall behind Sabrina's head. "Four-thirty."

Sabrina blinked. "Wow. We spent longer being mobbed in there than I thought. No wonder I'm so hungry."

"Well, we'll have to show you the true hospitality of Faerie this time." Mustardseed said. "I'm afraid we were a little slack in that department last time, but with my father's murder..."

"I get it." Sabrina said. "There's only three of us this time. _Oh_! We're supposed to meet Dad outside in half an hour!"

"We'd better get started, then." Mustardseed said dryly. "It will probably take us that long just to get through the room."

"Fun." Sabrina said. "More people mobbing me."

"You can deal with it." Puck said. "You're good at coping."

"But I complain loudly." Sabrina said. "And the more I have to cope, the more I'll complain. And if I have to hold it in for a while, you aren't going to hear anything but me whining for an hour."

Puck winced, then shrugged. "I can always enact my revenge later."

"Don't destroy the house, all right?" Mustardseed asked. "I'd rather keep it intact, since I'm pretty sure I can figure out a way to bring it to your minuscule town so that we don't have to find a house."

"You can stay in Puck's room, too!" Sabrina said brightly.

"Hey, what is this?" Puck complained. "It's_ my_ room!"

"You've already got Baba Yaga in there with her chicken house." Sabrina said. "What's two more people?"

"Baba Yaga is my idol."

"Oh dear." Mustardseed passed a hand over his face. "What have you done?"

"It wasn't my fault." Sabrina protested. "And they're your family, Puck." She continued. "You can stay _in _the house if you need to. Or if you want, there's a lot more attic than what Uncle Jake will be using."

"Let's talk about this later." Mustardseed said. "We really ought to be going."

"Right." Sabrina said, and together, they went out to fight their way through the party.


	26. Around the City

**AN~ I have to go back to school in a few days. I don't want to. Spring break went by so FAST! **

**_findthefourth:_ No, not really. she's a bit annoying, but she gets better once you get to know her.**

* * *

By the time they made it outside, Henry was already there, waiting in his car, as Mustardseed had predicted. Sabrina collapsed on the front seat with a sigh.

"I am _not_ going back in there until the party is over." She groaned.

"How come you get the front seat?" Puck asked, sliding into the back.

"Because this is sort of technically _my_ car, it's _my _dad, and I got here first." Sabrina said. "Plus I'm twelve and you're eleven."

"Actually, I believe he's twelve now." Mustardseed said. "Seeing as I'm feeling older than I did before, and have had a growth spurt. My apologies on our informal introduction, sir." He said, addressing Henry. "Am I correct in assuming you are Sabrina's father, Henry Grimm?"

Henry eyed Mustardseed with raised eyebrows, then looked at Sabrina.

"I like this one. Why can't _he _be your best friend?" He looked back at Mustardseed. "Nice to met you, too. Yes, I'm Henry. And you are..."

"Mustardseed." Mustardseed supplied. "I assume you'd like to go out to eat? I can reccomend some really good restaurants near here, and after that we can find you a place to park your car for the next two weeks. There's a place around here that's very cheap."

"Free, actually." Puck said. "If you're talking about father's garage, I fixed that before we left. No charge anymore."

"That's useful." Sabrina said. "Now can we go eat? I'm exhausted."

"Of course." Mustardseed said. "Henry, you'll want to turn left once we reach the park, then drive three blocks. After that, turn right and drive another block and a half. It's the restaurant on the corner. It's run by a friend."

"Everafter?" Sabrina asked.

Mustardseed shook his head. "They're all at the Golden Egg. But he knows about them."

"How many people are there in New York that know about everafters?" Sabrina asked.

Puck and Mustardseed looked at each other and shrugged.

"Fifteen? Twenty?" Puck asked.

Mustardseed nodded. "At most. We've all given a human a leg up now and then, but most of them are dead by now."

"Dead how?" Henry asked suspiciously.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Old age, Dad. Seriously."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady!" Henry snapped.

"Then don't be so suspicious." Sabrina returned. "This is your turn, by the way."

Henry turned the car sharply, speeding up to avoid getting caught in a red light, and narrowly missing an approaching car.

"Who taught you to drive?" Sabrina complained, sitting back up.

"Your grandmother." Henry said tightly.

"That explains it." Puck grinned. "Can we do it again?"

"_NO_!" Sabrina and Mustardseed shouted together.

"Yeesh, no need to be so forceful about it." Puck muttered. "I was just asking."

"Well, stop asking." Sabrina said. "And since when do you drive like this, Dad? Mom was always the risky one."

"I was careful when you were in the car." Henry replied. "But you have to be a dangerous driver in this city."

"Another reason to not come back." Sabrina said.

"This is it!" Mustardseed interrupted. "Park!"

"Where?" Henry asked.

"You just passed a spot." Puck said. "If you and Sabrina hadn't been arguing, you'd have seen it. Nice job."

"Shut up, Puck." Sabrina said.

Henry sighed. "We're going to have to go around the block and get back to that spot."

"No, we're not!" Sabrina said. "There's a guy pulling out right in front of you!"

"What? Where?" Henry asked.

"Right there!" Sabrina pointed.

Henry zoomed into the spot quickly, making Sabrina and Mustardseed uncomfortable again, but giving Puck a bit of enjoyment.

"He did it again!" Puck grinned.

"Fun." Sabrina said. "I'm not sure I'm hungry anymore."

"Yes you are." Puck steered her to the restaurant. "Remember how much you were looking forward to normal food?"

"Mmmm..." Sabrina said, allowing Puck to push her. "I can smell the pizza now. Yum... Carbs, oil, bread, pepperoni..."

Mustardseed blinked. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"My mother makes odd food." Henry said. "She does most of the cooking at our house, and Sabrina isn't fond of it. So she doesn't get much to eat at home."

"It doesn't help that whenever there's something I _do_ like to eat, someone else always _eats_ it all." Sabrina said, shooting Puck a glare as they walked into the pizza parlor.

"Hey, it's not _just_ me." Puck protested. "Daphne eats a lot, too, and Elvis steals everyone's food. Plus, you're living in a house with what, ten other people?"

"Wow, you can count!" Sabrina said sarcastically. "Congratulations, you've passed kindergarten!"

"Great." Puck said. "Get me through fifth grade and we're good."

"Fifth?" Sabrina asked. "Excuse me, but I'll be in seventh!"

"Sixth, actually." Puck said. "You missed last year. And I bet you've had a pretty spotty education before that."

"So what if I have?" Sabrina asked. "At least I've been to school."

"Table for four, please." Mustardseed told the waiter. "Two kid's menus for the ones squabbling like infants."

"Excuse me?" Puck was saying. "I'll have you know that I've been tutored by some of the greatest, smartest- wait? What's this about a kid's menu?"

"You learned nothing from most of those tutors, and if you two continue to act like this, I'll have him get you high chairs and bibs to go along with it." Mustardseed replied. "Please, act your age. You're embarrassing me."

Sabrina blushed bright red. Puck scowled, but shut up. Henry gave Mustardseed an appreciative look.

"Nice job." He said, following the waiter to the table. "Can I take you home with me?"

"Yeah, you can break up the fights between him and Uncle Jake!" Sabrina cut in.

"I am coming back with you." Mustardseed said as he sat down at the table. "No matter what anyone else does. I think it's time for a change. I've been here too long, and accomplished almost nothing."

Sabrina, Puck, and Henry all followed suit, picking up their respective menus.

Sabrina made a face. "I'm too hungry for these meals."

"Yo think you're too hungry?" Puck asked. "I'm a growing boy, I need my energy!"

"I'm growing, too!" Sabrina said. "And my body isn't listening to me about how to use its energy right now!" But then she looked down at her place and sighed. "Oh well. At least we get crayons."

"Can I eat those?" Puck asked.

"Well, you _can_." Sabrina said. "But I wouldn't if I were you. They're made of wax."

"Maybe if I put lots of salt on them..." Puck said, eyeing the crayons thoughtfully.

"Don't." Mustardseed said. "Or I'm getting you that bib."

"Hey!" Puck protested. "We weren't fighting! ...Well, not a _lot_ anyway. Just bickering!"

"I said don't embarrass me." Mustardseed said. "Your eating crayons embarrasses me."

"Can we please eat something off your menu, then?" Sabrina asked. "I'm _starving_."

Mustardseed looked at the two kids, both of whom where looking pathetically at him, then sighed and passed over his menu.

"Fine." He muttered.

Puck grinned snatching the menu. "Softie."

"Puck." Sabrina muttered through clenched teeth. "Now might not exactly be the best time..."

"Oh." Puck said, remembering the consequences. "Right."

"Can I see the menu, too?" Sabrina asked.

Puck considered saying no, but one glance at Mustardseed set him straight, and he moved the menu over so that she could read it, too.

"What would you like to drink?" The waiter asked, returning to the table.

"Coffee." Henry said.

"Water, please." Mustardseed asked.

"A _huge_ soda." Puck said.

"Decaf for him, caffeinated for me." Sabrina said. "Other than that, same thing, please."

"Wait-" Puck said, but the waiter was already gone. "Who said I wanted decaf?"

"We've all seen you on a sugar high." Sabrina said. "And I, for one, do not want to see that again."

"I second that motion." Henry said. "I couldn't go anywhere for a week without being covered in who knows what."

"Still not doing anything productive, Puck?" Mustardseed asked.

"Hey, I think saving her butt is plenty productive!" Puck said, pointing at Sabrina.

"Mother might disagree." Mustardseed said. "She's not an everafter, she's not royalty, and you're obviously infatuated."

"Hey, I'm right here." Sabrina said. "And one, Yes I am, two, who needs to be, and three, I certainly hope not!"

Puck was very red as he shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no. Not at all. Who could be in love with that?"

"Thanks a lot." Sabrina said. "But at least you can see what I look like. I wouldn't know if you were the handsomest man on the planet, through all that dirt."

"Good thing I am so filthy, then." Puck gloated. "You wouldn't be able to concentrate if I was clean."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Let's just order our food, shall we?" She nodded at the waiter, who gave her a thankful look.

"I'll have the tortellini soup." She said with a smile.

"Lasagna for me." Puck said. "And lots of it."

"Two slices of pepperoni, please." Mustardseed asked.

"One plain, one sausage." Henry said.

"Coming right up." The waiter nodded.

"What was that about being an everafter?" Mustardseed asked.

"Remember the thing about the cocoon?" Sabrina asked

Mustardseed nodded.

"Well, it turns out that unless you're a fairy, if you go in one, it kind of... kills you, so the cocoon has to change you to keep you from dying." Sabrina said. "I'm an everafter now, with multiple very difficult to control powers that keep popping up out of nowhere and causing trouble."

"Sounds dificult to get used to." Mustardseed said.

"It is." Sabrina said. "I mean, flying is amazing, and some of them are nice, but no one asked me if I _wanted_ to be an everafter, and- thank you." She said, moving her hands so the waiter could put down her tortellini, then continuing as he moved around the table putting down more food. "Now not only are my next-door-neighbors trying to kill me, but they're also gong to want me to get them out of the barrier, not to mention how my _family _reacted-"

"Huh?" Henry said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Please, Dad, you practically threw a hissy fit, and it wasn't even my fault!"

"Actually, I think he threatened to disown you." Puck said through mouthful of lasagna.

"Not helping, Puck." Henry said tightly.

"So on top of Dad being mad at me for no reason, Daphne's jealous, Uncle Jake wants to analyze me, Granny tries to be helpful, but half the time she isn't, and Mom so busy being distracted by who knows what that she barely pays attention to anyone!"

Henry blinked at his daughter. He'd had no idea what she was going through was so difficult.

"Is it really that bad?" Henry asked.

"Well, you're not exactly making it easier!" Sabrina said. "I have nobody I can really talk to at home except Puck, and half the time, he's pranking me or arguing with me!"

"What about that Bella girl?" Henry asked.

"I may trust her, but it's hard to confide in someone who betrayed you less than a year ago." Sabrina said. "It kind of puts a damper on the relationship." She immediately attacked her food with gusto, ignoring everyone else.

Puck blinked. "I get the feeling this is a sensitive subject. Let's change it."

"Good idea." Mustardseed grinned. "But your tact needs some work."

"Four thousand years of habit are kind of hard to break." Puck said. "This is good food, by the way. Nice suggestion."

"Thank you." Mustardseed said. "I come here whenever Momma has a day off. She's the closest thing to a cook we have there."

"Still haven't replaced the guy mom threw the soup at?" Puck asked.

Mustardseed shook his head. "He told all his friends, and nobody would come to the place when they heard how Mother treated our staff, no matter how much money we offered."

"That's what Dad's precious tax dollars were doing, huh?" Puck said dryly. "Honestly, if Moth wasn't such a brat, I'd thank her for offing him."

"She'd probably think you were proposing to her." Sabrina snickered through a mouthful of tortellini.

Puck shuddered. "That girl is desperate. And scary."

"You're telling me." Sabrina said.

"What exactly happened here?" Henry asked. "I never got details. Come to think of it, I didn't get details on most of your near-death experiences."

"That's because we didn't want you to go on a rampage." Sabrina said. "You can be a little unpredictable when you find out that Daphne and I were in danger."

"Well, I promise I won't freak out now... too much." Henry said. "What happened?"

"We came to Faerie to get Puck better and had adventures." Sabrina said. "First off, Oberon practically captured us to get Faerie on his side, then we attacked him on stage and he went off to nurse his pride. While he was there, Moth poisoned him. Granny offered to put us on the case after Titania transformed into something creepy that I don't want to explain, and Moth came back to the hotel with us. While we were on the case we were attacked by Yahoos, almost destroyed in a train crash, kidnapped by pirates, put back in the orphanage, handed off to a serial killer, and I was sprayed by a noxious cocoon and poisoned by Moth. Then, after _that_, we got chased all over New York by a giant Wicked Witch of the West robot and I almost fell off a hot air balloon to my death."

"I saved her twice during that." Puck said. "Pretty good, considering I was asleep most of the time."

"True." Sabrina said. "Thanks for that. Hey, do you still have the robot?"

"Yeah, I think it's in my room." Puck said.

"How did you get it through the door?" Sabrina asked. "It's like, six stories tall!"

Puck shrugged. "I asked your uncle."

"But you were still mad at him then!" Sabrina said.

"I got over it." Puck said. "And that was a good way to prove I wasn't still mad. It was one of those guy things where we made up without ever actually talking about anything important."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Oh. One of _those _moments. The ones I completely don't understand because of my lack of testosterone."

"Yup." Puck nodded. "Those."

Henry had turned slightly red at the mention of hormones coming from his daughter's mouth, and decided to change the subject.

"I see why you didn't want to tell me about that, Sabrina." He said. "I would have, up until three days ago or so, probably 'freaked out,' as you put it. But I'd like you to know that you can come to me with things like that now. I'm your dad, and I want you to trust me enough to talk to me."

Sabrina nodded. "All right. You won't throw a fit when you hear how close to death I've come, and I'll tell you about them."

Puck made a face. "Can we stop with the mushy father-daughter bonding moment? I thought you guys got that over with already."

"We did." Sabrina said. "Mostly. But we may have missed some things. I've never done much in the bonding department. It just sort of happens."

"What do you mean?" Mustardseed asked.

"Well, either I'm close to someone or not." Sabrina said with a shrug, eating another tortellini. Once she was done chewing, she continued, "I don't go out of my way to make our relationship stronger. I just act how I'd normally act, and if there's a problem, I try to fix it in the easiest way possible. Most of the time someone else takes the first step. If it's bad enough, a third party will get involved.

Puck snickered at that. Henry sighed.

"Another reason Mustardseed would make you a better best friend." He said. "I doubt he'd be nearly as stubborn."

Puck rolled his eyes.

"Please." He said. "You can't live with my family and _not_ be stubborn. He's just quiet about it. And more-" He shuddered "-mature."

"It's not such a bad thing, you know." Mustardseed said. "You should try it sometime. Check, please!"

The waiter came over a few seconds later, the bill in hand.

"Here you are, sir." He said, placing it on the table.

"Thank you." Mustardseed said. "I'll pay." He told Henry.

"No, I'll do it." Henry protested.

"Let him pay if he wants to." Puck said. "We've got plenty of money."

Henry sighed in defeat and let Mustardseed pay, heading for the car.

Sabrina grinned. "He's not as tough as he pretends to be, is he?"

Puck shook his head. "Your dad's a softie."

"But I love him anyway." Sabrina said. "When he's not being a butthead, at least."


	27. In Moth's Room

**********AN~ **The idea of Moth's response to Sabrina's everafterhood is Berserkerangel's idea. I do not own it.

******_Rainbowofsmiles16:_ why can't you get logged on?**

* * *

"I'd like to see this Moth character." Henry said once they were back in the Golden Egg that evening.

Puck snickered.

"What's so funny?" Sabrina asked.

"He called her a character. Oh, the irony." Puck grinned.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Right, dumbo." She said. "And Dad, _why_ do you want to see her?"

"I'd like to yell at her for almost killing my daughter." Henry said. "May I, Mustardseed?"

"Of course." Mustardseed nodded. "I'll take you there now."

"Thank you." Henry said.

Mustardseed nodded, leading the way through the restaurant, then through the royal quarters in the back, and down to the basement. Henry followed. Puck and Sabrina glanced at each other. Puck shrugged and started after the two. Sabrina rolled her eyes and joined him, muttering under her breath about how this was a stupid idea, and they should avoid the homicidal maniac.

"Oh, be quiet." Puck said eventually, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you have to talk to her or anything."

"But I don't want to go near her." Sabrina said. "I never liked her in the first place, and now that she's tried to kill me..."

"I didn't like her either, but I'm not making a fuss." Puck said.

"She didn't almost murder you." Sabrina said.

"She wanted to _marry _me." Puck said vehemently. "That's worse."

"I dunno..." Sabrina said. "There's always divorce with that. Death is forever."

"I'd rather be dead than married to her." Puck said. "It's less painful."

"You sure?" Sabrina said. "You ever been dead?"

"No, but we could always go ask my dad."

"No thank you." Sabrina said. "If we ask him, he's probably going to inhabit my body again, and that was _not_ fun. Besides, he's 'resting in peace,' so it's probably better to just leave him alone."

"Not fond of having your soul shoved aside, human?" a voice asked.

Sabrina blinked. It had been getting steadily darker and less hospitable as she and Puck had talked, and now they were in a darkened hallway lined with doors. They stood before the final door, where a small, weak lightbulb flickered. Inside the room was a shadowy figure.

"No on both counts." Sabrina said, struggling to contain her rage and failing, as the temperature in the room rose noticeably.

"Excuse me?" Moth asked, coming forward towards the barred window of the door, closer to the light.

"So much for not talking to her." Puck muttered dryly.

Sabrina ignored him, speaking to Moth alone. "Of course I don't like having someone else in my body. And the second part? I'm an everafter now."

Moth gasped.

Sabrina smiled wryly. "The funny thing is, it's your fault. If you hadn't tried to poison me, I wouldn't have had to be put into one of those fairy cocoons. And since a human can't survive being in one, I had to become an everafter or die. So don't call me human anymore. I might have to show you how annoying it is to be counted on by your race alone, _Fae_."

"Did you explain the difference between Faerie and Fae to her?" Mustardseed asked Puck out of the corner of his mouth.

Puck shook his head, watching the two girls.

"Then how did she know the difference?" Mustardseed asked.

Puck shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

"Probably." Mustardseed said. "You might want to tell her about that before she gets herself into trouble. Mother would not appreciate that."

"Mother doesn't appreciate most things." Puck said. "She's more of a stick in the mud than you are."

"She's a _dangerous_ stick in the mud." Mustardseed replied. "And I doubt you want her getting hurt."

"True." Puck said. "Later, though, all right? I want to see how this plays out."

"Fine." Mustardseed said as the two returned their attention to the girls.

"How can you be an everafter?" Moth asked. "There have been no new everafters in over a hundred years!"

"Don't ask me." Sabrina shrugged. "All I know is I am one, and if it turns out I don't like it, I have you to blame. And I will not hesitate to get revenge."

Sabrina smiled, but it wasn't friendly. This was the look that countless kids had seen right before Sabrina punched them in the gut, or they ran screaming because they knew what was good for them. It was a fierce, feral smile and Puck, seeing it, shuddered.

Moth didn't squirm, though, something Sabrina gave her credit for. She simply glared back at Sabrina and said, "I should have killed you while I had the chance. Then none of this would have happened. I would have my husband, my crown, my kingdom, and my freedom."

Sabrina looked like she was about to strangle Moth, and Puck was about to step in and stop her when Henry jumped in front of Sabrina and began yelling at Moth.

"Now wait just a minute, young lady!" He shouted. "I don't care who you are, _nobody _talks to my daughter that way!"

He continued to rant while Puck and Mustardseed dragged Sabrina forcibly back from the cell.

"She's scum under your shoe, Grimm." Puck muttered. "Not worth getting mad at. A gnat. All her buzzing does is make an annoying noise."

"I swat gnats." Sabrina said tightly. "Can I swat her?"

"No," Mustardseed said, "That would get you put in jail, too. And I have a feeling you wouldn't enjoy that."

"Come on." Puck said. "Let's leave your dad to shout and get away from that thing." He glanced at Moth as if she were nothing more than the insect she were named after. "Mustardseed can help me explain the difference between Faerie and Fae."

"But how will Dad get to his room?" Sabrina asked.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Mustardseed and I have minions, Grimm. Remember?" He pulled out his flute and blew a few notes, telling the pixies, when they arrived, "Take him wherever he asks once he's done."

The pixies chittered for a few seconds, and then Mustardseed led the way back up to the ground level and the den with the fireplace and leather chairs. He took a seat in one, Puck sat on another, and Sabrina, after a moment's hesitation, pulled a third closer to the others, forming a semi-circle around the fireplace.

"Awright, so what were you saying about Faerie and Fae?" Sabrina asked with a yawn.

Puck gave her a look. "Will you stay awake for it?" He asked. "This is important, and I don't want to have to save your butt because you called somone by the wrong kingdom."

Sabrina nodded, yawning again. "I'll- be fine."

Puck rolled his eyes and turned to Mustardseed. "Don't start without me, I'm gonna go get sleepy over here something to eat."

"Not too big!" Sabrina called. "I want to be able to sleep tonight!"

"Whatever, Grimm." Puck called as the door swung closed.

"While he's out," Mustardseed asked, leaning forward, "Would you tell me about what happened after your incident with the cocoon?"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "You want the long version or the short verison?"

"Short." Mustardseed said. "How long can it take Puck to get food?"

"You'd be surprised." Sabrina said dryly. "Anyway, Nothing much happened for ages, but a month or so ago I kind of made myself float. Obviously, I got it back to normal, but then I ended up getting wings, some sort of power to manipulate barriers, elemental/weather manipulation, and lie detection. I'm feeling like a Mary-Sue at the moment."

"They might not all stay." Mustardseed said. "From what I've found out-"

"How did you find it out?" Sabrina asked.

"Thumbelina." Mustardseed replied. "She's also one. She said that she had an explosion of abilities at the beginning, but they dwindled away after a while."

"I hope they don't go away until after the war's over." Sabrina muttered. "I was sort of counting on being able to kick some serious Scarlett Hand butt with this stuff."

"You will." Puck said confidently, walking back into the room. "Honestly, who needs special powers to kick someone in the rear end? All you need is two legs, their behind, and good aim."

"Way to be literal there." Sabrina said dryly, taking the box of Cheeze-its from his hand. "Thanks for the food."

"It might be harder if they were running, though." Puck said thoughtfully. "And who wouldn't run when they were being kicked at?"

"Ending a sentence with a preposition." Mustardseed tsked. "Bad grammar."

"Aw, who cares?" Puck asked.

"Let's talk about-" Sabrina swallowed her food, then continued, "-The difference between Faerie and Fae. You mentioned it before, in passing."

"Technically, there isn't much." Puck said. "We're all fairies, we're all either greater, lesser, or pixies, we all eat, we breathe, we have embarassing bodily functions that I find funny but nobody else wants to talk about, we all drink, we all like food, we all have weaknesses-"

"Right, I get the picture." Sabrina interrupted. "But how are you _different_?"

"Faerie and Fae are the two kingdoms of the fairy folk." Mustardseed said. "We both started out spread around the world, but the two kingdoms gradually got centered in Greece and Italy. That was when the fighting started."

"Back up." Sabrina said. "Go back to the kinds of fairies. Explain?"

"Pixies are the little ones, greater fairies are the human sized ones, and lesser fairies are the ones that are still counted as fairy folk, but usually don't have wings, and don't normally look like they would fit in with humanity." Mustardseed said. "The highest class of Lesser Fairies are the fairy godparents."

Sabrina blinked. "Then what about those other fairy names? Like sprites and stuff?"

"Sprites are bonded pixies." Puck said. "Normal pixies are free to do what they want, and the only one who really knows anything about them is the P word. They usually help us out because they're technically fairies and it suits them. But Sprites have a specific bond to one person, and they'll only do what that person tells them."

"That's kind of cool." Sabrina said. "Anyway, back to the story. Why were they fighting?"

"Nobody knows anymore." Puck said. "How stupid is that?"

"Well, the reason no one knows is that all the people who knew are dead. There are no living fairies over five thousand, because they were all killed in the war." Mustardseed interjected. "After our paternal grandfater died, our mother forged the treaty he had been trying to create with Fae. That's why father married her, a fairly lowly cortesan's daughter."

"What were the conditions of the treaty?" Sabrina asked.

"A hostage situation." Puck spat. "They took Peaseblossom and we got Moth. We and they get visting days, but I honestly think that they got the better end of the deal. We agreed not to attack each other or the hostages would die."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "That's... not cool. Peaseblossom is your older sister, I take it?"

Mustardseed nodded. "Puck neglected to mention that part of the treaty was an agreement that Peaseblossom would marry Mab-"

"Who?" Sabrina asked.

"Queen of the Fae." Mustardseed supplied. "Anyway, Peaseblossom would marry one of Mab's sons and Moth would marry one of us. That way neither kingdom would lose a future ruler, and both girls would be well married. Peaseblossom married the oldest Fae boy, and Moth was going to marry one of us, only Puck refused to grow older, and as twins, we are forced to stay the same age. I, being the younger of the two, was not allowed to dictate our ages."

"That's harsh." Sabrina said. "Way to be a good big brother, Puck."

"Look who's talking!" Puck protested.

"And who sacrificed her childhood to take care of her younger sister?" Sabrina shot back.

"Guys!" Mustardseed shouted. "This isn't the issue. The marriage to Moth was prevented for some time by our ages, but Mab was getting impatient, and she told Father that either one of us would marry Moth or the treaty was ended. That is when Father and Puck had their fight. I assume you know the rest of the story?"

"The basics." Sabrina said. "I might get details from Puck later."

"Right, so anywah, that's the difference between Faerie and Fae. We might have a treaty, but neither kingdom really likes the other one." Puck said quickly. "Anything else you want to know?"

"Not that I can think of at the moment." Sabrina said. "I guess we'll go to bed now?"

"Sounds good." Mustardseed said. "Puck, you'll be in your old room. Nobody's touched it since you left, I think they were all afraid to- I know I was- the pixies are going to show Henry to the guest room, and Sabrina, you'll be sleeping in Moth's old room."

"Which is where?" Sabrina asked.

"I'll show you." Mustardseed said. "Goodnight, Puck. It's good to have you back."

"Goodnight, Mustardseed, Grimm." Puck said, waving as he left the study.

Mustardseed and Sabrina followed a few seconds later, and Mustarseed led Sabrina through a series of hallways to Moth's room.

On the way, Sabrina muttered, "How the freak is this place so big when it looks like a regular diner from the outside?"

"A twist in the spacetime continuum." Mustardseed said. "From what I've heard about my brother's room, I assume it's the same thing. It's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"...Sure." Sabrina said. "But the time thing, what does that mean? It sounds pretty weird."

"I honestly have on idea. Time passes the same here as it does outside the Godlen Egg, though." Mustardseed chuckled and stopped walking.

"That works." Sabrina said. "Is this the room?"

"Yes." Mustardseed said. "It's only really been cleaned since Christmas, and I had someone put your bag in here earlier, so you should be fine. Ring the bell if you have any problems."

"Bell?" Sabrina asked.

"Moth liked to be pampered." Mustardseed explained.

"Ah." Sabrina said, then opened the door to Moth's room as Mustardseed walked off. "Goodnight!"

"Sleep well, Sabrina." Mustardseed said.

Sabrina turned back to the bedroom and stopped dead. _SHE COULD NOT SLEEP IN THERE._

Everything was either pink, gold, or white, fluffy, garishly bright and distracting, and horribly expensive-looking. Aside from the fear that she would break something and need to replace it and the horrible thoughts she had at the decor of the room, both of which Sabrina could stand, there was the really horrible part: there were posters of Puck everywhere. Big ones, little ones, all angles, Puck doing all sorts of things, but mostly Puck staring forward. Sabrina stepped into the room, towards the small, safe spot of blue that was her duffel bag.

The poster's eyes followed her.

Sabrina ran to her duffel bag, grabbed her pajamas out of the top, then ran to a door across the room to get changed, because she was not going to do it with Puck staring at her.

The door wasn't the bathroom, it was a walk-in closet full of clothes Sabrina would never consider wearing. She ran to another door, opened it, found a boathroom with another picture of Puck, and ran into the shower. Thankfully, there were no posters in the shower, and Sabrina decided to clean herself while she was in there.

She emerged half an hour or so later, feeling more pampered than she had in ages, having used all of Moth's shampoos and such because she didn't want to return to the horde of staring eyes before she had to. She climbed into the bed, turned off the light, and turned to ignore the shapes in the room.

But as her night vision devleoped, she could make out the poster's eyes, still watching her. She put her head under the covers, but soon she got stuffy, and she had to pull them down again so she could breathe. She tried closing her eyes, but they kept popping open.

It was all Puck's fault. She'd told him not to feed her. She needed a sign. 'Please do not feed the teenager' or something like that.

She could use the sign to cover the eyes of the giant Puck fathead on the ceiling.

On second thought, that would have to be a pretty big sign.

...

Why couldn't she fall asleep?

The eyes were watching her. It was _really_ creepy.

Was it just her, or had one of the posters blinked?

Of course not, posters didn't blink.

There. It did it again.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She turned the lights on and ran out of the room to the next door down the hall. It turned out to be her dad's room. Henry woke up and blinked at her groggily.

"What is it, sweetie?" He asked, seeing the state she was in.

"Can I sleep with you?" Sabrina asked. "I can't stay in there."

"Sure." Henry said, scooting over.

Sabrina smiled and crawled into bed with her dad. She was asleep withing minutes.


	28. Life as We Knew It

**********AN~ Yeah, about that long time in updating... my bad. This has been edited!**

* * *

Sabrina didn't remember where she was, at first. Then, slowly, the events from the previous night came back to her. Moth's room, the Puck posters, the horror, her inability to sleep, and finally, running to the spare bedroom and taking solace with her dad.

"Morning, sweetie." Henry said, picking up his toilettries bag and giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'm going to shave, then see if I can find some breakfast."

"I think I'll just head straight for the food." Sabrina said. "See you there."

She headed for the room she'd begun to think of as the study first, and, sure enough, Puck and Mustardseed were already there, armed with card tables and waffles. She joined them near the fireplace and began to prepare herself some food.

"Where's your mom?" She asked. "I haven't seen her since the party last night."

"Sleeping off the alcohol she had after your speech." Puck said. "I think you shocked her. And speaking of that, my sources say you slept in the guest room last night. Why?"

"I'd been wondering that, too." Henry said, entering the room. "What happened in there?"

Sabrina shuddered. "That room was _covered_ in giant posters of Puck. It felt like I was being watched, and one of them looked like it was blinking. It was too creepy."

"I'm hurt." Puck gasped. "How could you not want to be surounded by moi?"

"Easy." Sabrina said. "One of you is more than enough."

"Fine, then maybe I'll reconsider my plans to entertain you for the two weeks we'll be here with nothing to do." Puck said snootily.

"Wait-what?" Sabrina said. "What plans?"

"What's this about having nothing to do?" Mustardseed asked. "I actually had plenty planned for you, Puck."

"Why don't we just sign the kingdom over to you and be done with it?" Puck asked. "Then you'd be happy, I'd be happy, and everything would be good, except for Mom's sense of proprietaryhood."

"Actually-" Mustardseed said, "That sounds like a really good idea. I'll have the papers drawn up today, and you can sign them this evening. Never mind, I can't think of anything for you guys to do, unless there's a mystery around here."

"Oh please no." Sabrina said. "I'd like a break from that stuff while I'm here. I just want to have fun."

"I believe I'd like to get reacquainted with my old friends." Henry said. "Explain why I've been of the radar for two years, stuff like that. Want to join me, Sabrina?"

Sabrina thought about it. Seeing some of her old friends might be nice. But she really wanted to find out what Puck had planned! ...On second thought, it might be something disgusting. Besides, she had a lot more time left to figure out what he was up to.

"All right." She agreed. "Sounds cool. Puck? You wanna come?"

Puck grinned. "Better than sitting around while Mustardseed acts mature. Besides, this fits right in with what I was planning..."

"Which is..." Sabrina asked.

"No, you said you didn't want me around."

"Come on!" Sabrina complained. "I just invited you to meet my friends! If I didn't enjoy your company, do you think I'd take you to see them?"

"She has a point." Mustardseed interjected.

"Oh, you keep out of this." Puck said. "I wanted her to beg more!"

"Now I'm not going to." Sabrina said. "I can outwait you."

Puck made a face. "I hate you all."

Sabrina just looked at him.

Puck sighed and gave in. "Fine. I was thinking about what you said about not knowing anything about my life before I met your grandma, and I decided that I'll show you what it was like. I was going to make you show me your old life too, but you're doing it already, so..."

"Awesome." Sabrina grinned. "Don't let me die, though, ok?"

"Why would you die?" Puck asked.

"I've heard some of your friend's names." Sabrina said. "Jonas the Betrayer, that other one... They don't sound particularly safe."

"Wimp." Puck said. "You'll be fine. Relax."

"I'm holding you to that." Henry said. "If you come back without her, or if she's hurt, then you're in big trouble."

"I can take care of myself, Dad." Sabrina said.

Puck snorted.

"I'll have none of your sassback." Sabrina muttered. "I was doing just fine before I met you."

"Please." Puck said. "You couldn't even figure out how to get into your own house."

"I'm not talking to you." Sabrina said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Puck called.

Sabrina said nothing, just left the room. Once she'd taken a shower, brushed her teeth and hair, and gotten dressed, she met her father, Puck, Mustardseed, and Titania in the Golden Egg.

"Ready?" Henry asked.

Puck and Sabrina nodded.

"See you this evening, then." Mustardseed said. "Have a nice time, and those papers will be ready when you get back, Puck."

"Don't get into too much trouble." Titania said dryly. "You Grimms seem to stir things up whenever you're around."

"I've noticed." Sabrina rolled her eyes as she left the building. "It can get kind of annoying."

Henry chuckled, following her. "Occupational hazard. Sure you don't want to quit?"

"Not until after the Scarlet Had thing is finished." Sabrina said. "Daphne would kill me."

"She's getting a little big for her boots, if you ask me." Puck said darkly. "I mean, you gotta love her, but she's being kind of bratty."

"I've noticed." Sabrina said. "But I do kind of deserve it."

"The fact that you know that means her work is done and she can go back to being sweet and adorable." Puck said. "That was more fun."

Henry nodded, and the three continued on to the subway, riding it until they reached Henry and Sabrina's old neighborhood. They spent most of the day wandering the city, meeting up with old friends.

It was during lunch that Sabrina realized she had absolutely nothing in common with her old friends.

"So... Sabrina." Leslie, one of Sabrina's old friends said, "What's the story between you and... Puck, did you say it was?"

"We're friends." Sabrina said, raising an eyebrow. She hoped that Leslie wasn't thinking she and Puck were dating. The reason they'd been friends was that both agreed that the only thing guys were good for was making fun of.

"Nothing... else?" Leslie continued.

"No." Sabrina said shortly. "And my life is too busy at the moment for a relationship like that."

"Right." Leslie giggled.

Rachel, another of Sabrina's old friends, chimed in, saying, "So, I know you were off the radar for a while, but have you heard much from Natalie?"

Sabrina shook her head, but leaned forward, interested. Natalie had been her best friend before the orphanage.

"She and Felicity got pretty close after you left." Rachel said. "They're practically joined at the hip."

Sabrin blinked. She'd expected change, but not the biggest tomboy in the school becoming ms. popularity, let alone the siamese twin of the most shallow girl in the entire school district.

"Anyway, let's talk about happy things!" Becca, another of Sabrina's old friends, spoke up.

The other girls agreed and moved on to talk about what movies they'd seen recently, who had worn what when, who looked the best at the spring dance, and other thinks they assumed Sabrina would be interested in.

Sabrina and Puck just sat and stared, Puck because he couldn't believe Sabrina had ever been friends with people like that, and Sabrina because she wasn't sure these _were_ her friends.

At the end of the day, on the way back to the Golden Egg, Sabrina pointed out the changes.

"I can't believe I ever hung out withe people like that." She said. "They seem so... shallow. Immature."

"I can't belieive you hung out with them, either." Puck said. "How did you stand it?"

"They were different then, I guess." Sabrina said. "It has been two years. People change."

"Actually, aside from being interested in boys, they seemed pretty much the same to me." Henry said. "It could have been a few weeks since we'd seen them, not two years. "It's you who's changed, Sabrina. You've grown up a lot more and faster than they have. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled, blushing. "That means a lot."

"Right, well, now that we've gotten the sweet, adorably sickening father-daghter bonding session out of the way," Puck said, "I'm going to go see if I can lose the responsibility of being king now."

"Jerk." Sabrina muttered, following him into the restaurant.

Inside, Puck and Mustaredseed were sitting at one of the tables, bent over a piece of paper, with Momma, Titania, Scrooge, Tim, Bess, and Hamstead.

"Just in time, Henry." Momma said as they walked in. "We needed a seventh witness."

Henry sat down in the remaining seat and joined the others in reading over the documents that covered the table.

"What do I do?" Sabrina asked.

"You could cover the bar for Momma until we're done." Titania said absently.

Sabrina looked at the group for a little while, saw that they weren't going to offer any entertainment whatsoever, and went off to do just that.

"Hey, gal!" Someone called from the stage.

Sabrina looked over. A cat was beconing to her. "Get me a glass of milk, would you?"

"Sure." Sabrina said.

It took a little while to find the cups, and even longer to find the refridgerator, but once she had, she brought the cat his drink.

"Thanks." He said. "You're the Grimm girl, right? The one who made the speech?"

"Yup." Sabrina said. "And you're the cat with the fiddle, right? From the nursery rhyme?"

"Yeah. Hasn't been much of a band since Bess left, though." THe cat looked over at the table. "I hope she's back to stay."

"Band?" Sabrina asked.

"The Nursery Rhymes." The cat said. "Spoon and Dish do percussion, Bess was vocals, I did the violin, and the Dog was background singer."

"No other instruments?" Sabrina asked.

"Couldn't think of anyone else to join. Except the Pied Piper, but nobody knows where he is."

"Ferryport Landing." Sabrina said. "So is his son."

"Really?" The cat asked. "They'd be and amazing addition to the group."

"If I see them, I'll put in a good word for you." Sabrina said.

"Thanks, kid!" The cat grinned at her.

Sabrina smiled back. "No problem. 'Bye!"

On her way back to the bar, she realized that that was the first time she'd interracted with a talking animal without being completelly freaked out. Or at least one that she didn't know as a human before she found out anything else about them. He'd been pretty nice, actually.

She waited on people for another half and hour or so before the legal group was finished, and headed for the bar as a mass.

"How's it feel to be king, Mustardseed?" Sabrina asked, once they reached her.

"I'm not oficially king until the coronation ceremony. That will probably be tomorrow, but it might take two days instead." Mustardseed said. "But it doesn't feel that different. All it means is that I'll get the credit for doing what I already was doing."

"You can move, sugar." Momma said. "I'll take over from here."

"All right." Sabrina said. "There were some people who wanted alcohol, but I was afraid I'd get in trouble if I handled it, so I just wrote their names down for you."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Momma smiled at her as they switched places.

"Sweet relief!" Puck sighed, plopping down in a swivel chair. "No more responsibility!"

"And here I was thinking that living with you had improved him." Titania muttered.

"We'e working on it." Hamstead said. "I noticed that he read everything himself."

"You sure he read it and didn't just sit there while we read it?" Henry asked.

Bess shook her head. "That would be too boring for him."

"Reading that _was _boring." Puck said.

"It's nice to see you again, Hamstead." Sabrina smiled.

"Same." He grinned. "Seeing the world was great, but it'll be good to be home. I missed you all."

"Well, I'm off to bed." Puck said, standing up.

"Bed?" Mustardseed asked. "It's eight thirty!"

"And I have a big day tomorrow. Grimm, you ought to go to bed soon, too." Puck said, leaving the room.

"Should I be worried?" Sabrina asked.

Titania shook her head. "That boy loves you."

Mustardseed spoke up before Sabrina could debate that. "I had Moth's room emptied of posters for you. You might want to listen to Puck."

"All right." Sabrina said. "Goodnight everyone."

She kissed her dad on the cheek and left to get ready for bed. After she'd washed off the grit from a day of walking around the city, she entered Moth's bedroom cautiously. Mustardseed was as good as his word. Aside from the excess of pink, it seemed pretty normal, if lavish. She settled down to sleep and was out like a light in minutes.

* * *

The next morning, Sabrina was awakened by a hand on her shoulder.

"...Wha..." Sabrina asked.

"Get up, Grimm." Puck said. "I told you I was going to show you what my life was like. It starts now."

"Why?" Sabrina whined.

"We're going to watch the city wake up. Central Park is the best place to do that. I'll get you a coffee or something, just get up!"

"Don't like coffee." Sabrina muttered, climbing out of the bed. "Too bitter."

"I'll find something, then." Puck said, leading the way out of the bedroom.

"Can't I at least get dressed first?" Sabrina asked.

"Later." Puck said.

Once outside, he led the way towards a tree, looked around carefully, then flew into the branches. Sabrina hand unfurled her wings and was about to follow him when she heard a gasp.

"What was that?" Sabrina asked, looking around.

Behind one of the other trees was a man, obviously homeless, alternately staring at Sabrina and Puck.

"Are you an angel?" He asked.

"Um..." Sabrina said, looking at Puck.

Puck ndded.

"Yes?" Sabrina said.

"I don't believe it!" The hobo cried. "A real angel!"

"Sure..." Sabrina said.

"But- what about that other one? Why isn't he dressed like you?"

"He..." Sabrina looked down at herself. She was in the victorian nightgown again. Puck was dressed the same way he always was. "He's your guardian angel. They have to dress that way to fit in so they don't get noticed."

"Oh." The man said. "Then, why are you dressed like that?"

"I'm not a guardian angel." Sabrina said. "I'm his... boss, that's it, and I'm here to check up on his progress."

The hobo chuckled. "Well, he's doin' al right. I'm still alive, 'aint I?"

"Yes you are." Sabrina said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment. Don't point us out, all right? Nobody's supposed to see us."

"Ah, I get it." The hobo said. "Stealth. Right."

"Sure." Sabrina said. "Go back to sleep."

She flew into the tree and glared at Puck. "Where's forgetful dust when you need it?"

"Never use the stuff." Puck muttered. "People are too funny. Nice job on that guy."

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "You realize there's a guy walking around New York convinced that you're his guardian angel, right?"

"That's worth your free wakeup drink. You just made my day. Wait here, I'll be right back."

Puck returned a few minutes later with a big black can of something called a 'monster.'

"What is this?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "The guy at the convenience store called it an energy drink. Sounded like something that would do you good, so I bought it."

Sabrina shrugged, opened the can, and took a sip. "Hm." She said. "Pretty good. Want a sip?"

"Sure." Puck said. "I've already caught the puberty virus, what else can go wrong?"

"Pubery isn't a virus." Sabrina said, handing Puck the can.

Puck accepted it. "Liar. I hope ugly isn't catching, too"

"SHut up." Sabrina snapped, grabbing her drink back. "You eat a lot of my food anyway."

"Which is how I caught puberty." Puck said. "Now-"

He was interrupted by a loud noise at the botom of the tree.


	29. The Collection

**********AN~ Thanks to Blue-Eyed-Lily, TheSecretWeasley5147, and Grimmgirl for brainstorming assistance on what Puck would do when he lived in New York!**

* * *

"Puck?" Someone was shouting. "You up there, buddy?"

"_Sh_!" Puck called back down. "There's a hobo over there, and we _just_ got him to go away!"

"Oh, sorry, dude." the person said. "Gimme a second, all right?"

There was a brief scuffling noise, then a scruffy head appeared on a level with their branch.

"Who's this?" The boy asked.

"This is Sabrina Grimm." Puck said. "Sabrina, this is Jonas the Betrayer."

"You mentioned him, I think." Sabrina said. "Something about him laughing you off the face of the earth if he heard about-"

She couldn't complete her sentence because Puck's hand was suddenly over her mouth, cutting off her air circulation. Ignoring the slight tingle where his skin touched her, she licked his palm to get him off her.

"Grimm!" Puck complained, pulling his hand back quickly and wiping his palm on his shirt.

Jonas snorted. "Nice to meet you, I guess." He said to Sabrina. "Is the king back to stay?"

"The king has abdicated." Puck said. "Mustardseed's in charge, like it should have been from the beginning."

"What?" Jonas asked. "You willingly gave up kingship?"

"Too much responsibility." Puck said. "Plus, my mom was getting on my nerves. All I ever wanted was the title, and princes have all the fun anyway."

"True." Jonas said. "But it still sounds kind of crazy, no offense."

"None taken." Puck grinned. "Gonna be busy for a while anyway. You here the other day?"

"The party? No." Jonas said.

He said something else, but Sabrina wasn't paying attention. She's been sipping her monster throughout the conversation, and she was getting bored. There was a bird on that tree over there. What did birds think about all day? _Did_ birds think? Did they ever wonder if there was more to life than sitting around eating seeds? Sunflower seeds would taste good right now. Why hadn't Puck bought food, too? Why just this drink? Mmm... It was good, too. She wanted more. She also wanted to be up and moving. This whole sitting-still thing was getting kind of boring. There were Puck and Jonas, just sitting there, talking. What were they talking about? And since when did Puck spend so long just sitting there! He didn't even like to talk!

"Grimm?" Someone was saying.

She shook herself, focusing back in on what was happening.

"Take this." She told him, handing him her drink.

"Why?" Puck asked.

"It's making me weirdly hyper. I'm zoning out, and it's worrying me. What if something happens?"

"Nothing's going to happen." Puck rolled his eyes.

"That's what _you_ think." Sabrina said mysteriously. "But seriously, every time I've thought that, something's gone horribly wrong."

"Being on top of things is good." Jonas said. "When you watch your back you have less openings to get stabbed."

"You would know." Puck grinned.

"Hey, I've been good recently!" Jonas protested. "Haven't betrayed anyone in... oh, it's gotta be more than fifty years, now!"

"Seriously?" Puck asked. "Why not?"

"No big battles, mostly." Jonas grinned. "No one to betray."

"I think you should join the Scarlet Hand, then." Sabrina said. "Betray them, not us, thanks."

"That could be arranged." Jonas said thoughtfully. "It'd probably be fun, fooling them all."

"That would be amazingly useful." Puck grinned. "We could use some inside information. Not that anyone's doing anything right now."

Sabrina was about to add on to that, then she remembered that she was still wearing her nightgown.

"Ahhh... shoot!" She cried, spreading her wings as she jumped from the tree, nightgown billowing around her. "I need to get changed! I'll let you two catch up, then I expect a day of fun,_ safe_ excitement!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Puck called back playfully.

Sabrina made a rude gesture at him without turning around, then ran for the Hans Christian Anderson statue.

"Better not let your dad see you do that!" Puck grinned after her.

Sabrina just rolled her eyes and walked into the Golden Egg.

It took her entirely too long to find her room, and once she did, she decided that a long, hot shower, a hair and tooth brushing, and some breakfast were in order. She considered putting some makeup on, but decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and make it look half as nice as it did when Bella helped. As a result, it was almost an hour before she returned to the restaurant proper.

"'Bout time." Puck complained as she walked through the doors. "If you're going to take forever, next time I'll wake you up at five!"

"Please no." Sabrina shuddered. "Why'd you leave the tree?"

"Too many people." Jonas said. "We might have been seen by someone other than a crazy hobo."

"I don't think he was _crazy_, per se." Sabrina said tactfully. "A little-"

"Insane." Puck interrupted. "The word you want is insane. But bonkers works, too. So does deranged, and-"

"Many other words that we don't want to get into." Sabrina interrupted. "What are we doing today?"

"I... hadn't really planned it." Puck said. "Jonas?"

Jonas shruged. "Most of what you did falls under the category of 'dangerous,' and she specifically said she wanted to be safe. That sort of cancels out anything fun."

"We could... I dunno..."

"Oh, this is pathetic!" Sabrina said. "I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up when you think of something good."

"Wait!" Puck yelped, reaching for her as she stood. "I'll show you my music collection!"

"You have a music collection?" Sabrina asked.

"Please." Puck said. "I'm an expert on entertainment through history."

"He is." Jonas said. "He's got a huge collection of music, and movies, and games. It's kind of ridiculous."

"Sounds cool." Sabrina said. "I'm game."

"Great." Puck grinned, standing up.

"Hey, listen." Jonas said. "While you do that, I'm going to go find our why Arthenus isn't here yet."

He got up and walked out the front door as Sabrina and Puck headed through the back towards Puck's room, which Sabrina had yet to visit.

"Arthenus..." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "He's the one who bet you couldn't eat the horse, right?"

"Yup." Puck said. "Figured my old friends was part of showing you around."

"So what _did_ you do while you were living here?" Sabrina asked curiously.

"Watched movies, bought games, played games, studied entertainment, and made trouble. _Lots_ of trouble." Puck grinned. "And- here we are!" He opened the door of his bedroom dramatically.

Sabrina blinked. The room was huge, which she'd sort of expected, but so completely unlike his 'bedroom' in Ferryport Landing that she wasn't sure it was the right place, at first. Each of the four walls was devoted to a specifically categorized and organized shelf. The wall to the left of the door was covered in CDs, the wall to the right in movies, and the wall directly ahead of her with board games and puzzles. Once she'd walked through the door, she turned around to see that the remaining wall held a state-of-the-art entertainment system covered with video games. The other furnishings in the room were simple, a small four-poster bed with green sheets; a table with a collection of office chairs, the kind that spun around and could be rolled across the floor; a plush green carpet; and some scattered beanbags.

"Whoa." Sabrina said. "It's... different."

"Different good or different bad?" Puck asked.

"Different not what I was expecting." Sabrina said. "It's a lot... neater than I thought it would be."

"I had to keep it like this because otherwise I wouldn't be able to find anything." Puck said dryly. "Plus, I don't spend much time here anymore."

"How many movies do you _have_?" Sabrina asked.

"About a million, give or take a thousand." Puck said airily. "They're organized alphabetically by year, in case you were wondering."

"How far do they go back?"

"The eighteen sixties." Puck said. "There were some motion pictures before then, but nothing worth buying. They were ridiculously expensive back then, and had awful quality."

"And your music?"

"I had all my records and tapes transferred to CD as soon as possible." Puck said. "Started as soon as there was any music worth listening to. But I kept the vinyls. They've just got this- quality, I guess- that CDs don't. The tapes I gave away. I might switch to MP3's soon."

"I kind of meant how much music do you have." Sabrina said. "But while we're on the subject, where are the records?"

"Under my bed." Puck said. "I didn't have room for them anywhere else. And I have... no idea how many CDs I have. More than I do movies."

"I kind of guessed that." Sabrina said dryly, still a litle awed. "I mean, the wall's the same size, but CDs are smaller, and all... Are they organized the same way?"

"No." Puck said. "They're arranged alphabetically by artist."

"And here I thought you didn't know the alphabet until this year." Sabrina muttered quietly.

"I didn't." Puck grinned sheepishly. "Mustardseed helped."

"You big baby!" Sabrina said. "Getting your brother to organize your stuff for you!"

"Hey!" Puck protested. "I did the games by myself!"

"And how are _they_ arranged, pray tell?" Sabrina said dryly."

"Age." Puck said. "The bottom left corner is the oldest, and they get newer the further up and right you go."

"Did you get them all after you moved here from- wherever you lived before?"

"England, and no." Puck said. "I've got a few really old games from Egypt and Greece and all those countries, but nobody knows how to play those games anymore. And I have a really nice Chess set that I mooched off Shakespeare. Ivory and obsidian, with gold and silver inlays."

"Wow." Sabrina ginned. "Sounds like something I'd be afraid to touch. She stopped for a minute. "Wait. You made Shakespeare give it to you?"

"Relax." Puck said. "He got it off the queen anyway. It's not like _he_ had to pay for it or anything."

"That's a little better, then." Sabrina said. "But you wanted to show me your music collection?"

"Unless you'd rather sit around and watch movies all day." Puck said.

"No, music is good." Sabrina said. "Movies are hitting a little close to home right now."

"Yeah, I can see how that might happen." Puck grinned. "You'll adjust eventually."

"How do you know?" Sabrina accused. "It's not like you've ever had to deal with stuff like this being sprung on you."

Puck took the accusation in stride. "You're the kind of person who raises a fuss, but then bounces back pretty well. You'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked.

"Had to be, to survive this long." Puck said. "You're a coper."

"A coper who keeps getting sidetracked." Sabrina said. "Back to your music."

"Right." Puck grinned. "Any kind in particular you like, or want to hear? I've probably got it here somewhere."

"I dunno..." Sabrina said. "I don't really listen to music.

"Seriously?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged defensively. "Well, before my parents were kidnapped, I was like, ten, and there's no real music for ten-year-olds, because they've outgrown 'the wheels on the bus' and haven't grown into adult music, and then I was in the orphanage, and I guess it never really caught on."

"Well, then, I'll just have to educate you!" Puck said.

"Educate me?" Sabrina said.

"On my personal preferences in music." Puck replied.

"Right." Sabrina said.

"Okay, here goes." Puck said, heading for the shelf, grabbing a case, and crossing to his CD player. He popped open both the CD case and the lid of the player, sliding the CD in deftly.

An upbeat sound filled the room, and Sabrina found herself enjoying it, much to her surprise. She'd sort of been expecting any music Puck liked to be rather insane, and nothing in her taste.

"What is this?" She asked, swaying a little to the music.

"The Beatles." Puck replied. "Their Abbey Road album. You want to see the songs?"

"They probably won't mean anything to me." Sabrina said dryly. "But sure."

Puck tossed her the case, sitting down on the bed. He overshot, though, and Sabrina fumbled to catch it, falling off balance and sitting down hard on the floor, much to Puck's amusement.

"Not funny." Sabrina said irritably, looking at the CD case. "This is the first one, right?"

"Yeah." Puck said, still chuckling.

"So this is... Come Together?"

"That's what it says, right?" Puck asked impatiently."

Sabrina made a face at him. "I like it."

Puck grinned, then started singing along quietly. Sabrina gaped at him as he continued to sing along, stopping after about thirty seconds when he noticed she was staring at him.

"What?" He asked irritably.

"A, you can sing. B, you know all the words to this?"

"And most of their other songs." Puck said. "And Journey, and some of my other favorite bands."

"Journey?" Sabrina asked.

"Another band from the same era." Puck said with a sigh. "The sixties and seventies were _great_ for music. A little heavy on the drugs and alchohol, I guess, but if that's what it takes to get some good creativity in the music department, well, maybe it's worth it."

"I'm not sure I agree with that." Sabrina said guardedly. "They say that stuff kills your brain."

"But it makes good music. The Beatles will never be forgotten." Puck said. "Might have kept doing it, too, if it weren't for Yoko."

"Yoko?" Sabrina asked.

"Yoko Ono." Puck said disgustedly. "Broke up the Beatles. The greatest band in history, broken up because of a _girl_."

"Wow." Sabrina said. "That's kind of sad."

"It's awful." Puck made a face. "But this is a depressing topic. Let's play a game while we wait for Jonas and Art to show up."

"Art?"

"Arthenus is too long for everyday use." Puck said. "What game do you want to play?"

"I'd kind of like to see your million dollar Chess set."

"You realize I haven't played Chess in forever, right?"

"Good." Sabrina said. "Then I'll have a chance to win. I'm _horrible_ at Chess."

They set up the game and started playing, Puck taking advantage of Sabrina's interest in the music to gain an advantage, but Sabrina attempting to move several pieces around when he got up to change the CD, the two arguing fiercely about the fairness of the game, but overall enjoying themselves. Sabrina didn't even complain too badly when Puck won.

They had played three games of Chess, two of Sorry, and one each of Life, Clue, Monopoly, and Checkers. listening to all of Puck's Beatles collection, as well as some music by Journey, Simon & Garfunkel, R.E.M. and Pink Floyd in the process, and were beginning to play Connect Four when Jonas and Art finally made their appearance.

"Took you long enough." Puck complained as the door opened.

"Sorry," a deep voice answered, "The subway was packed, and I got turned around."

Sabrina turned around to see the speaker and stopped, dumbfounded. He was _huge_. This monstrosity posing as a person must be Art, she decided. He was at least six foot six, with curly blonde hair, bulging muscles, bright blue eyes, and a ruddy tan.

"Hi." He said in his deep voice, grinning crookedly at her. "You're Sabrina, I take it. The replacement."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "Call me that again and I'll break your face. You're Arthenus?"

"Art." He replied. "And I don't think you'd do much damage. They don't call me world-smasher for nothing."

"I'd try it anyway." Sabrina said.

"Fiesty, isn't she?" Art grinned at her.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and went back to the game.

"How've you been, Art?" Puck asked.

"Great." Art grinned. "Aside from the fact that I just found out you came back for Christmas. What the heck, bro? Why didn't you visit?"

"I was busy." Puck said absenly, watching as Sabrina slid a red circle into a slot.

"I've noticed." Jonas said dryly. "What, now you've got a girlfriend, you're ignoring the rest of us?"

Sabrina jumped up angrily. "What is this?" She asked loudly. "Can't a guy and a girl be friends without everyone jumping to conclusions? WE'RE _NOT_ DATING!"

"Chill, fireball." Art said, raising a big hand. "It _is_ the natural conclusion, you know. What with all the signs and all..."

"The signs are wrong." Puck said shortly. "We're just friends."

"Right." Jonas snorted.

Puck rolled his eyes and returned to the game.

After a few minutes filled with no noise but the R.E.M. CD quietly playing 'It's the End of the World as We Know It,' Art spoke up.

"Look, Puck?" He said. "Sorry about that. Can we just forget about it? Have some fun? I haven't seen you in ten years. Let's not start off like this."

"Right." Puck said, sighing.

He got up, and the two shook hands. After a slight hesitation, Jonas joined in.

"I win." Sabrina said quietly, placing a last chip in the Connect Four board.

"Oh, that's _low_." Puck said as the group dissolved in laughter.


	30. Home Again

**********AN~ And now this chapter is spellchecked!**

* * *

The four teens spent the afternoon in quiet enjoyment, listening to Puck's music and playing board games. Around five thirty, Art and Jonas went hom for dinner- Art ruffling Sabrina's hair on the way out, much to her annoyance- and Sabrina and Puck were left alone again.

Puck was humming quietly to the music as it switched to a slower song. He blinked when he realized what was playing and looked up into Sabrina's eyes.

Sabrina looked back. Puck suddenly seemed a lot closer than he'd been a minute ago, and the music much louder. Why was her heart speeding up? Darn him for having such big, gorgeous eyes.

He smirked, all of a sudden, and offered his hand to her. "Want to dance?" He asked.

Sabrina blinked. That had been unexpected.

"I don't know how." She admitted.

Puck shrugged. "It's simple. I'll teach you the box step."

"The what?" Sabrina asked.

"Look, say yes or no." Puck said. "This polite thing isn't going to last much longer, and you might want to take advantage of it while it lasts."

Sabrina quirked a crooked smile and took his hand. "Teach away, buddy."

Puck pulled her up and into the center of the room, where he took her other hand and placed it on his shoulder, putting his on her waist.

"Your hand goes here..." He muttered, "And mine goes there. We hold these two hands. Now, for the box step, what happens is, I step forward, and you step back, since the man leads. That's the first corner of the box."

Sabrina obliged.

"Right, now we both step back and to your... left, that's the second corner of the box. Next, bring your other foot to meet it. Then I step back and you step forward, and that's the third corner, and then we step to _my_ left and back, and then we bring it together. That's the box. All you really have to do is follow me."

Puck continued to make a commentary on what they were doing, eventually switching to 'One two three, one two three,' as Sabrina got good enough that she could look away from her feet long enough to look Puck in the eyes. As soon as she did, though, she tripped, and she went back to looking at their feet.

"I like this song, too" Sabrina said, risking a quick glance away from the floor, which seemed to be tilting if she looked away for much longer than that. "What's it called?"

"The Long and Winding Road." Puck said, the oddest look in his eyes. "It's never been my favorite. It's a litle too sad."

"I like it." Sabrina said, looking back at the floor accusingly as she wobbled. It stayed innocently in place as soon as she looked at it. She cold have sworn it was mocking her. "Some of their other songs are a little- over-happy, I guess. This is more realistic. More melancholy."

"I could give you a CD with it on it." Puck said. "Would you like that?"

"But I could't take your CD!" Sabrina said, making the mistake of looking up into his eyes, which still had that odd expression in them. "You love this stuff!"

"Grimm, I'm a prince." Puck said. "One with a dad that overtaxed people all the time. Rich kind of goes with the territory. I can buy another CD just fine. Besides, if I give you their number one hits CD, then I'll be giving you seconds of songs I have on other albums. Does that make you feel better?"

He removed his hand from her waist to lift her chin with his fingers, since she had once again returned her eyes to the floor. Sabrina gasped at the closeness of their faces, and her mind was suddenly filled with memories of another time they had been that close together, and thoughts of the outcome, and then other thoughts, ones she didn't want. It was all she could do to nod before she pulled away and ran for the door.

She didn't stop running until she reached the room she was staying in. There she spent a good fifteen minutes convincing herself that Puck was disgusting, ugly, annoying, immature, and a freak, _not_ a nice boy who had bought her an energy drink, taught her to dance, and saved her life more times than she could count. Only once she was sure that her heart was in agreement with her head that she did _not_ like Puck did she head to the restaurant for dinner.

"Hey, sugar." Momma said once she'd reached the bar. "You look like someone could knock you over with a feather. What happened?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't even want to remember. Can I have some chicken fingers and a Sprite?"

"Sure, sweetheart." Momma said. "But it'll cost you."

"What?" Sabrina gaped.

"You tell me what happened, or you pay me the price on the menu." Momm said calmly, beginning to make Sabrina her food.

"But,,, I haven't got any money." Sabrina said pitifully.

"Then tell me what happened." Momma chuckled.

Sabrina sighed, looking longingly at the chicken fingers, and gave in. "I was hanging out with Puck in his room, and he decided to teah me how to dance, We-"

"Puck knows how to dance?" Momma said. "No wonder you're shocked."

"Right, that's really surprising too, now that I think about it, but that's not really it." Sabrina said, "We were dancing, and talking, and he offered me a CD I liked, and I was looking at the floor and he made me look at him and- yeah." She finished, blushing scarlet. "Can I have my chicken now?"

Momma chuckled. "Well, you paid. Not quite as exciting as I'd hoped, but first love _is_ pretty interesting."

"It's not _love_." Sabrina muttered. Then she looked up at Momma pleadingly. "Don't tell anyone, please? Enough people think we're dating as it is, and if this got out-"

"My lips are sealed." Momma winked. "But sugar, _do_ you like him?"

"I-" Sabrina stopped. "I don't _think_ so. I was sure yesterday. But now-? Ask me again in a month, all right?"

Momma chuckled. "Sure thing, darling."

Puck walked in a few minutes later, sitting next to Sabrina at the bar, but not really looking at her.

"Coke and a burger, Momma?" He said.

Momma bustled off to make Puck's food, banging pots nad pans and altogether doing a not very tactful job of showing the two that she couldn't hear them.

"I brought the CD." Puck muttered, still not looking at Sabrina. "You mad at me or something?"

"No." Sabrina replied, reaching out to take the disk. "Let's just- not repeat that anytime soon, ok?"

"Fine with me." Puck said. "I told you the nice wouldn't last long. Expect to be pranked thoroughly tomorrow."

"Thanks for the warning." Sabrina said dryly.

"No problem." Puck said.

Momma returned then, and Sabrina left soon afterwards. She spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out if she was happy things were back to normal or upset that nothing had changed.

The rest of the two weeks passed in a flash. As promised, Puck woke Sabrina up the next morning with a prank, and all the mornings that followed, too. Sabrina spent some of her days visiting some of her old haunts with her dad, but the more she saw, the more she realized that she didn't really belong in New York City anymore. She ended up spending most of her time in the Golden Egg, learning how to be a diplomat. It was a lot harder than it looked. In fact, without Mustardseed's help, she was pretty sure she'd have ended up undoing most of the work she'd done with her speech. She met more everafters, contantly reminded that she couldn't judge by appearances, and she began learning to curb her tongue, making so much progress that even Henry commented on it.

"You're not quite as rude anymore." He said.

Sabrina smiled. "I guess I'm recovering. Maybe I'm actually maturing."

"Maybe." Henry said. "We leave tomorrow." He changed the subject. "Are you ready?"

"I am." Sabrina said. "I can't wait to get back home. But I'm not sure if there's a plan to get so many people out of the city without the humans noticing. I hope they have room for us, I'm not sure Puck can carry us both."

"I'm sure they've figured something out." Henry said with a secretive smile.

Sabrina glared at him. "You know what's going to happen, don't you?"

"Just go to bed." Henry said. "You'll find out tomorrow."

Sabrina marched off to her room, muttering, "I _hate_ secrets."

* * *

The next moring, true to his word, Henry showed Sabrina to a collection of coach buses.

"We'll seem like a tour or something." Henry said. "No one will notice anything."

"_Three_ buses?" Sabrina asked. "There's seriously that many people here?"

"And the buses will be packed." Art said, walking past with a collection of dufel bags strung over his shoulder, carrying them all easily. "The smallest people might even have to share seats, but we could only fine three people who actually know how to drive these things."

"So... are we keeping the coach buses?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes." Titania said. "I spoke with your friend, the one who wishes to start a school? She said that she would appreciate the buses for her own purposes."

"Oh." Sabrina said, a little cowed by the reminder that everafters quite often threw money around like it grew on trees.

"Everyone!" Mustrdseed's voice distracted her as he shouted from atop the statue, "We've made a seating chart! Now, if your name begins with the letters A through J, please board Bus One. You'll find your name on a seat. _please_ sit there, we've done our best to make sure no one kills anyone else on the bus, and if you sit in a seat not assigned to you, you might end up next to your mortal enemy. If your name begins with the letters K through S, you're on Bus Two. Again, sit in your assigned seat. Anyone else, get on Bus Three. Thank you."

Sabrina moved off with the crowd to find her seat, giving her dad a hug as she did so. She fought her way to the bus, fighting an urge to moo as the throng of people tried to all fit through the doors to the bus at the same time. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably closer to fifteen minutes, Sabrina was finally on the bus and working her way back, trying to find her assigned seat.

"Back here, Grimm!" Puck called, waving a piece of paper at her.

Sabrina smiled at him gratefully and worked her way toward him and the back of the bus. Once she reached the last row, she sat down next to Puck, realizing that she was right next to the bathroom.

"Did you pull some strings to get us here?" She asked him.

'No." Puck said. "I didn't know about the buses. But Mustardseed arranged it, so I figured, who needs to pull strings?"

"True enough." Sabrina said. "I guess it doesn't matter. It'll be nice to not have to move far to go."

"Yup." Puck said.

"Who else is next to us?" She asked.

"Ummm..." Puck checked the signs on the seats. "Mustardseed and Renee."

"Nobody else?" Sabrina asked.

"Nope." Puck said. "I don't think there's room."

"I doubt there's room for the four of us." Sabrina said. "But that's the wonder of bench seats, I guess. You can squeeze extra people on them. Like couches."

"Good thing none of us are fat." Puck said.

"What's that about fat?" Renee asked as she sat down next to Puck.

"Puck was saying he's glad none of us are." Sabrina said, wondering why the fact that Renee was practically sitting in Puck's lap was bothering her.

"Yes." Renee murmured. "You _are_ quite skinny for a human, and Puck and Mustardseed are fairies, and I'm- well- still almost as thin as when I had my escapade."

"True enough." Puck said, scooting over a bit to get Renee off him. "Which means there _should_ be enough room that we don't have to be entirely squished, at least until Mustardseed shows up."

Renee took the hint, sliding over a few millimeters. Sabrina smiled to herself, not quit sure why she was so happy Puck hadn't wanted to be sat upon. She decided then that she was even gladder that Renee hadn't sat between her and Puck. But why did she care? It was too hot to be thinking about stuff like that. It was a good thing coach buses had air conditioning.

Mustardseed appeared a few seconds later, looking frazzled. He sat down in the small space next to Renee, who squeezed closer to Puck to make room for him. Puck in turn moved closer to Sabrina to keep from being molested, and Sabrina found herself shoved between Puck and the wall of the bus, glad that she had picked the window seat.

"That's the last of them." Mustardseed said. "Why did I ever want to be king again?"

"Because you actually care about stuff like that." Puck said. "And you didn't want to see me destroy what little is left of Faerie. Besides, you were doing most of the work anyway."

"While you were off galavanting in nowheresville." Mustardseed said, rolling his eyes.

"I was saving her life!" Puck said, jabbing his thumb towards Sabrina. "And you're about to move to nowheresville!"

"Nowheresville is about to become the hub of everafter activity for the whole world." Sabrina said. "Has been one of them for a couple hundred years, actually. So I'd appreciate it if you stopped badmouthing my home."

"I thought you wanted out." Puck said, raising an eyebrow.

"I did." Sabrina said. "But now I don't."

"You confuse me." Puck said.

"It's my job." Sabrina smiled at him, then turned towards the window.

She stared outside for a while, watching the scenery change gradually from skyscrapers to forests, and only realized she had been asleep when Puck shook her awake to tell her they were stopping for lunch. She looked outside, saw the restaurant, and decided to just go back to sleep. She continued to sleep until they crossed the barrier, the shock of it jolting her awake. She realized she was leaning on Puck's shoulder and sat up quickly, grateful that she, unlike Daphne, didn't drool when she slept.

"Was I asleep long?" Sabrina asked Puck as he rolled his shoulder stiffly.

"Not _too_ long." Puck said, adding under his breath, "Compared to how long I've been alive."

"You could have moved me, you know." Sabrina pointed out.

"And risk waking you up?" Puck asked. "I figured you needed sleep, and I didn't want my head bitten off."

"My mouth's not big enough to bite off your head." Sabrina said.

"That's what _you_ think." Puck sniggered.

"Emphasis on _your_." Sabrina smiled sweetly. "You're really big headed, you know."

"It is one of my finer features." Puck grinned.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "How long 'til we get home?"

"About twenty minutes to dropoff." Puck said. "And from there... fifteen home, I think. So, an hour at most, allowing for get-off-the-bus time."

"What time ist it?" Sabrina asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Late." Puck replied. "Almost everyone else is asleep, too."

"Where are they going to stay tonight?"

"Mustardseed leaned across Renee, who was also asleep, to tell say, "Ferryport Landing has a hotel, you know. And many of us have brought our own equivalents of homes in our luggage. We'll set them up in the campground south of the town proper tonight, and meet at your house tomorow to work out the details."

"Sounds good." Sabrina said with a yawn. She blinked. "I must have been more tired than Ithought. I've been asleep all day, and I'm still tired."

"You've had a busy two weeks." Mustardseed said. "You needed to catch up on your rest."

"And we're parking." Puck said, "And the car's waiting for us, so we can get right off and go home."

"Why didn't you two go with Mr. Grimm, by the way?" Mustardseed asked.

"Dad's car is stuffed full of luggage he offered to take for the everafters. The buses only hold so much, and there wasn't any room left over for us." Sabrina said tiredly. "Now, I'm going to sneak off before everyone starts waking up and I have to wait. See you tomorrow."

The others said their goodbyes as Puck and Sabrina left the bus quietly and headed for the old Jalopy. They climbed into the family car, grateful that only Uncle Jake had come to bring them back, and headed back to their own bedrooms to rest up for the next day, which promised to be busy.


	31. The Test

**********AN~ I went to my camp reunion today, and it was AMAZING! EDIT: Has been spellchecked.**

* * *

The next morning passed by in a flurry of hugs, kisses, and stories of what had happened in the two weeks Sabrina had been in New York City. There was an excess of odd food, a few pieces of normal, more edible consumables, and a general air of all-around cheer. It passed too quickly,as good things often do, and after lunch the leaders of all the everafter groups not on the side of the Scarlet Hand piled into the Grimm's living room.

Charming greeted them and made speeches, Snow explained about the school and the need for all the child-age everafters to enroll, named the placement testing date (August fifteenth), and requested that the information be relayed to all other everafters, and then they got down to planning out the mechanics of fitting a thousand or so more people into Ferryport Landing.

Sabrina left around then, along with the rest of the household children, bored by the new topic of conversation. They'd make them fit, somehow, and she was done being a leader for now. Besides, the testing date had made her panic. August fifteenth wasn't even four weeks away.

"You look stressed." Daphne noted.

Sabrina gave her a Look. "I have four weeks to figure out how to prove I'm educated beyond the fifth grade. And how to get Puck up to the same level. Yeah, I'm a little stressed."

"I'd concentrate on Puck." Daphne said. "Get him up to your level, then work on getting past that together. Then at least you'll have your protection in school. I assume that's why you want him around?"

"Yeah." Sabrina quirked a half smile. "That's a good idea, Daph. You need help with anything?"

"Nah." Daphne shook her head. "I'll be going into second grade. What do you learn in first grade? Adding and how to read? I can do both of those, easy."

"What about subtracting?"

"I'll be fine." Daphne said. "Worry about yourself."

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled gratefully. "I've got enough on my plate as it is."

"I figured." Daphne smiled back. "With school and being an everafter now and friends and all that."

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Now, I'm going to go fine Puck and try to get him to sit down to learn this stuff. Does Red need help?"

"Acutally," Daphne said thoughtfully, "I think she does. Let's teach them together! It'll be like playing school!"

"...Right." Sabrina said, and trotted off to find Puck, wondering if she should warn him about what he was in for.

_Nah._ She decided. She wanted to see his face.

It was pretty funny, Puck's expression when he discovered that Daphne wanted him to play school in the girl's room.

"No." He said, fighting Daphne's pull on his arm easily. "I don't play school. Why anyone would want to reenact torture for _fun_?"

"Dunno." Sabrina said, getting up to help Daphne, "But you have to learn this stuff sometime, and it might as well be now. I seriously don't want you too far below me."

"But I'm stupid!" Puck fought for a last excuse, grabbing the doorframe. "I can't learn it, so there's no use trying!"

Sabrina stopped. "You seriously think you're stupid?"

"Everyone said so." Puck said. "Even my mom, and she was the nicest to me."

"Mustardseed called you stupid?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow.

"Not in so many words." Puck said. "But he said something about not applying myself and... yeah."

"You're _not_ stupid." Sabrina said. "You're lazy, and annoying, and undereducated, and unfocused, but nobody stupid could design pranks like yours. You just need to, like Mustardseed said, apply yourself."

"Come on, Puck!" Daphne whined. "It'll be fun!"

Puck gave in with a sigh, letting go of the doorframe and practically landing on top of Daphne, who had still been tugging on his other arm.

The children began three weeks of intensive studying then, teaching each other and themselves, sometimes being taught by a free adult, or anyone else who knew something more than they did about math, or science, or english, or history.

It quickly became apparent that Puck wasn't stupid, and was exceptionally good at all things relating to mathematics. He caught up to Sabrina in half the time they had, and spent the rest of the time forging ahead on his own, teaching Sabrina what he'd learned on his own so that they were still on the same level, and helping Red, who struggled horribly with math, catch up to Daphne. He wasn't a patient teacher.

Red didn't seem to be much good at any schoolwork, but she was up to Daphne's level by the time the tests came around, even if she did have to struggle to get there, especially in math.

Sabrina and Daphne were both very good at English, and Daphne had a head for other languages. Sabrina ended up trying to be the patient teacher she saw in Snow for the other kids, showing them the finer points of passing English, and attempting not to be too sharp with Red when she got adverbs and adjectives confused, or when Puck misspelled something, or Daphne asked for _another_ definition.

And then the testing date was upon of them.

They were all piled into Henry's car, heading for the school, when it sunk into Sabrina's head that they were actually going to take the placement test in less than an hour.

"Oh my gosh." She muttered, her breath coming quicker. "I'm going to fail. They'll put me in all the stupid people classes and I'll have to learn everything all over again and I won't graduate until I'm thirty and I won't learn any of the stuff I need to and then the war will come and I'll _die_."

"Chill, Sabrina." Daphne said. "You'll be fine."

"Grimm, you're getting hysterical." Puck said, scooting away from her on the backseat.

Red, in the far back of the minivan with Daphne, looked on worriedly, then stuck a hand on Sabrina's shoulder comfortingly. They shared a look of understanding, both of them terrified of failing.

The only voice to break through the rapidly rising panic in Sabrina's throat was her father's.

"Sabrina." He said. "You've been studying for weeks. You've made every possible preparation. Panicking won't help at all. In fact, it will probably make things much worse. Now calm down and do your best, and it will work out."

Sabrina took a deep breath, nodded, and stepped out of the car. "Right." She said. "Here goes."

"Good luck!" Henry called, driving off to bide the time until the test was over elsewhere.

The five children piled into the school, which looked no different from the other buildings except that it had a sign that said 'White's School for the Gifted."

"Impressive." Sabrina said. "Am I gifted?"

"You can catch people on fire." Daphne said. "I think it's a way of showing there are everafters here without ordinary people making a fuss."

"Probably." Bella said, sitting down.

Sabrina took a moment to look around the room. There were maybe two hundred everafters between the physical ages of six and seventeen in the large room that took up most of the first floor and was apparently a combination gym, cafeteria, and auditorium. There were doors on the right wall that led to the administrative offices, the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the stairs, and the left wall was lined with windows and heavy drapes.

Snow, Miss Muffet, the Beast, Rumplestiltskin, Ms. Smirt, and Mr. Hamelin were all standing on the stage on toe far side of the room. Snow held a microphone, Ms. Smirt pencils, Mr. Hamelin and Miss Muffet each held part of one stack of booklets, and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin parts of another stack.

"What's that?" Puck asked, nodding to the stuff as a few more kids entered the room.

"Standardized testing materials." Sabrina said. "We each get one of each booklet and two pencils, then we do what Snow says."

They waited for a while longer as more students filed in. Sabrina stared. She hadn't realized just how many child everafters and children of everafters there were, and the crowd in the room surprised her. Finally, Snow had apparently decided everyone was there, because she spoke into the microphone.

"Hello everyone!"

Surprisingly, they all quieted down almost immediately.

Snow blinked, then smiled. "Right. I'd like to start off by asking you to move yourselves so that you have an empty seat to either side of you."

There was a brief scuffle as the students to be did so, then they settled down again. The teachers left the stage and began passing out materials.

"Thank you." Snow said. "Now, the teachers are passing out the stuff you need to take the tests Normally, I'd tell you to wait and fill it out as per the directions, but we're not comparing to any other school, so fill out the front once you get the materials, but don't open the test until I say to."

The kids did so, and after an excessively long time, Snow continued.

"Answer whatever questions you can, skip the ones you don't know, come back to them if there's time. Don't worry if you can't answer one, your score won't change drastically because of it. Check your work, get a teacher if you need your pencil sharpened. We'll break for lunch at twelve. Open your test booklets. And... Begin!"

With a scrabble of pencils, they did. The test wasn't as hard as Sabrina thought it would be, separated by grade level, beginning with things a kindergartener would know, and working up to things higher grade levels might have trouble with. She spent almost no time on any of the sections up until third grade, finishing them all in less than half an hour. Third and fourth grades made her think a little, but were still easy, and she had them finished in less than an hour each. She was part of the way through the fifth grade work when Snow spoke again.

"Pencils down." She waited until everyone had complied before continuing, "Place your answer booklets inside your test folders at the page you are on, then close your test folders and place them under your chair. We will have a half an hour break for lunch before starting again. I won't stop you from talking, but please don't cheat."

Sabrina switched her test booklet for her lunch under her chair, dumping the contents of her brown bag onto the table. She ate most of the food quickly, ignoring the others around her, surprised at how hungry she was. After all, she'd just been sitting there the whole time. Once she finished, she looked around her, noticing for the first time who else was sitting at the large round table with her. Daphne, Bella, and Wendell were also at the table, Bella and Wendell looking at each other as if they weren't sure whether or not to say anything, Daphne leaning across to the table behind her to whisper quietly in Red's ear. Red, sitting at a table with Puck, Mustardseed, and Renee, just nodded, looking exhausted. Mustardseed and Renee were talking, and Puck was also leaning towards another table, muttering with Jonas and Art, who sat behind him at a table with two everafters Sabrina didn't know. She found it a little strange that all but two of the kids in the room that she knew were sitting together, but then she remembered a series of events where she and her friends maneuvered their way into sitting near each other against all odds in elementary school, and decided it wasn't that odd after all.

Before she had a chance to actually speak, though, Snow was calling for them to get their tests back out and begin.

The afternoon was harder. Fifth grade work, while underneath her level, took her until one o' clock to finish, and sixth grade took her over an hour. Once she was up to seventh grade work, she stopped trying to finish every problem and just skimmed, answering what she knew. She did that through the rest of the test, finishing most of the English problems, a very few of the math ones, and some of the history ones, but almost none of the science problems. When Snow told them to stop at three o'clock, Sabrina felt that she'd used her time well and her fears of beng placed in a lower-grade class were unfounded.

"That was _hard_!" Daphne whined on the way out to the car. "I could only answer any questions through the third grade level, and that took me most of the day!"

"I didn't even get that far." Red whispered. "I don't think I did very well."

"I think I did all right on history and math." Puck said. "I just looked through the test for stuff that I knew and answered those. Then it was time to go."

"I think I did well." Bella said. "I didn't know much past sixth grade. How do you think you did, Sabrina?"

"Fine." Sabrina said. "English was the easiest, but all the math stuff I knew past fifth I learned from Puck."

"He's really good at math, had anyone else noticed?" Daphne said.

"Marshmallow, I'm right here." Puck said, rolling his eyes and climbing into the car.

"How was the testing?" Henry asked.

"Hard!" Daphne said vehemently.

"Not too bad, for those of us over eight." Sabrina said. "How soon are we going to get the results, do you know?"

"Snow estimated two weeks." Henry replied. "It might be sooner if she can get help grading. A hundred test in a week is a lot for one person."

"More." Daphne said. "There were definitely more than two hundred people testing there."

"Two hundred and seventeen." Red whispered. "Twelve of them are the children of other everafters, and Sabrina and Daphne were the only humans. There are two hundred and three everafters that look younger than eighteen."

"So that means she has to grade about sixteen tests per day." Puck said. "I hope she gets help."

"That was fast." Bella said.

"I told you people, he's really good at math!" Daphne exclaimed.

"Right." Sabrina said. "And we know, but that was still pretty fast."

"Thank you." Puck grinned, mock bowing.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Do we get our schedules when we get our results?" She asked her dad.

"No, the schedules come two days before school starts."

"When _does_ school start?" Daphne asked.

"The fifth." Sabrina said.

"That's three weeks from now!" Bella wailed. "And I haven't gone back to school shopping or _anything_!"

"Calm down." Henry said. "I'm sure mom will take you all shopping soon, and we have stuff at home you can use, too."

"But that's not new!" Bella said. "And I was kind of talking about clothes."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Not school supplies?"

"No." Bella said. "No offense Sabrina, but your clothes just don't fit me right. We're not built the same way."

"I've noticed." Sabrina said dryly, eyeing Bella's extraordinarily curvy (for a twelve-year-old) figure, and comparing it to her own slight form. "I guess I don't really blame you, then."

"I need new clothes, too." Daphne said. "All of mine are too small." She poked her leg forward so that Sabrina could see it, revealing a stretch of ankle between her jeans and her shoe.

"And so are Puck's." Red said quietly.

"Puck's clothes are a wreck." Sabrina said. "They've needed to be replaced ever since I met him."

"I _like_ them this way!" Puck protested. "They're worn in!"

"They're half destroyed, and I can see three inches of leg between your socks and your pants." Sabrina said. "It's time for new clothes. We'll talk to Granny when we get home."

And that was the end of the discussion.

They returned home, ate dinner, and went to bed after talking to Granny about clothes shopping, which they decided to do the next day. All of them fell asleep almost immediately, worn out by the testing.

Sabrina didn't even take time to write in her journals or read anyone else's, dropping into bed like a stone and staying firmly there until morning, dreaming of flying clothes with wings made of standardized tests floating with giant jellyfish in clouds of pink cotton balls .

When she woke up the next morning and Daphne told her she'd talked in her sleep, they both had a long laugh. Then they went downstairs and ate breakfast before piling into the minivan again with Bella, Granny, Uncle Jake, Puck, and Red to go back-to-school shopping.


	32. Shopping

**********AN~ Well, there will be an interesting mini-plot twist this chapter. Nothing too major, just some preteen drama. We haven't gotten to the big plot yet, and I'm VERY sorry for this HUGE introduction section.**

* * *

Granny decided that they would go to the office supply store first and stock up on the actual school supplies first, before moving on to clothes. Bella complained, but Granny pointed out that it made much more sense to shop for the things they didn't have before shopping for things they already had, and Bella couldn't argue.

Once they had been to every store that might carry notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, binders, and folders, and had bought enough for a nine period day for five children, they stopped for lunch at the Blue Plate Special, piling into one of the rounded corner booths, the only ones big enough to fit them all without joining two tables. Blue Farrah, who was on duty, came up to them and handed out menus with a smile.

"Hey, guys!" She grinned, flipping a strand of hair out of her eyes. "What can I get you to drink this afternoon?"

"Water, thanks." Granny said.

"Chocolate milk, please." Daphne chimed in next, smiling back at Blue.

"I'd like punch, please." Red said quietly.

"Iced tea would be nice." Bella added.

"Sprite?" Sabrina requested.

"Coke." Puck demanded.

"Coming right up!" Blue smiled at them, heading back to the kitchen.

While she was gone, the others stared at their menus, making their choices silently. Sabrina had just about picked the fish and chips when Blue returned. She doled out the drinks, placed a pile of straws on the table, then pulled out her notepad and asked what everyone wanted to eat.

"The chef's salad looks lovely." Granny said.

"Everything." Daphne said, grinning. "Just kidding! But I _do_ want the soup of the day, breadsticks, noddle salad, the chicken pot pie, a side of string beans, and chocolate cake."

"That's a lot less than last time, sugar." Blue said, mock worried. "You feeling all right?"

"Fine." Daphne said. "But I'm not as hungry today."

"Can I have a hamburger?" Red asked. "With french fries?"

"Sure, sweetie." Blue smiled, then turned to Bella. "And what do you want?"

"Chicken finger basket." Bella replied.

"I'll have the fish and chips." Sabrina said.

"I'd like the jumbo steak." Puck said. "And toast."

Blue Farrah went off to get their food, and Sabrina rolled her eyes at Puck.

"You _would_ pick the most expensive thing on the menu." She said.

"No fights now,_ lieblings._" Granny said. "I have something I want to talk with you about."

"Wassup?" Daphne asked.

"You remember that chore schedule I mentioned last month?" Granny asked.

The children nodded.

"Well," Granny continued. "I finally finished it. And I'm going to hold a family meeting to discuss it when we get home, but until then I thought I'd give you some warning. You'll each be assigned a room to keep clean and we'll have a list of other chores, like laundry and dishes and grocery shopping and so on. I know some of you won't want to do this," She continued, glancing at Puck, "But it needs to be done, and it will be good for you to know how to cook and such."

Puck made a face. "I don't _want_ to."

"Wow, you don't sound two or anything." Sabrina said dryly.

"Shut up, Grimm." Puck glared.

"Not doing so hot on the insults today, are we, you royal toddlerness?"

"I said shut up!" Puck smacked his hand on the table, making the drinks shudder.

"_LIEBLINGS_!" Granny glared. "I said _no fighting_!"

Sabrina and Puck settled down meekly to wait for their food. when it was brought out a few minutes later, everyone fell to eating without another word, and then they were off to buy clothes.

First they went to a secondhand shop near the diner. There they found an assortment of strange clothes that, in one way or another, fit Daphne, and some for the others. Daphne was ecstatic to be able to mix and match her odd assortment of vintage clothing- all of which Sabrina considered very weird, but that was Daphne for you.

They shopped the rest of the day in more conventional stores, finding ordinary clothes for the others. Red consented to wearing jeans, in shades of gray, and she bought several shirts ranging in color from light pink or white to a deep red, almost burgundy. Bella tried to get her into some other colors, even though she did admit that Red looked good in the color she was named after, but she had no success. Puck was delighted to discover that they sold jeans that were already ripped, and bought several pairs, though Granny forced him to buy two pairs of nice, unripped jeans and three pairs of slacks, as well as an assortment of shirts they could both see Puck wearing. Puck also bought many, many large, plain hoodies in multiple colors.

Sabrina helped him clear the shelf of those hoodies, because she had grown remarkably fond of the one Puck had given her, and decided that plain, zip-up boy's hoodies were both comfortable and functional and much more practical than girl's hoodies, which tended to be too form-fitting for her tastes. She also bought various pairs of jeans and a variety of shirts, though both Bella and Daphne encouraged her to branch out into more adventurous clothing.

Bella herself bought almost half the stores they went to, picking up everything in her size, from the most preppy, frilly, pink clothing to the most hard-core gothic styles, proclaiming that she needed all the clothes she could get.

"Leave some for the other people!" Sabrina protested.

Bella nodded, putting most of the more hardcore clothing back.

At around four o' clock, they passed Uncle Jake, who had been on a date with Briar, and they all went off to buy more... private articles of clothing, Jake going with Puck and all the girls, Briar included, forming a group of their own. While Granny took the two younger girls off to buy panties, Briar pulled Sabrina and Bella aside.

"You two both need bras." She said quietly. "I figured you wouldn't want the younger girls hearing that."

Sabrina, her face bright red, nodded. "Red would be as embarrassed as me, and Daphne would completely freak. Not about Bella, though."

"Well, I've been wearing one." Bella said. "It's just... It doesn't fit right anymore."

"I noticed." Briar said dryly. "Now, let's go get you underwear.

The trio headed off to buy an article of clothing that Sabrina, even though she knew she needed one, didn't even want to think about, let alone name. Still, Briar and Bella's good moods rubbed off a little, and her face was no longer tomato-colored by the time she rejoined the others, now the awkward owner of seven comfortable, plain white bras with no trim, each a little large.

"You'll grow into them." Briar had said airily. "Especially now that you've started eating again."

"Great." Sabrina said gloomily.

Afterwards, Jake tried to escape with Briar, but Granny snagged him. "We're leaving soon, I don't want to have to find you again. We just have to see the Tailor, and we're off."

"Tailor?" Daphne asked.

"The Brave Little Tailor." Granny replied. "Killed an ogre, owns a specialized clothing store."

"I kind of more meant, what's a tailor?" Daphne said, "But that was my next question."

"A tailor is a guy who makes clothes special for people. Girls are called seamstresses." Sabrina explained.

"Okay." Daphne said. "That's cool, but why are we going to see him?"

"I want you three to have nice clothes, and I think it will be good for him to have your measurements." Granny said, giving Briar and Jake a knowing look.

Sabrina snickered.

"What do you guys know that I don't?" Daphne asked.

"Lots." Sabrina said. "But you'll find out soon enough. Granny, why do we need other nice clothes?"

"There's a back-to-school formal." Granny said. "I did the Tailor a favor, so we can get the clothes cheap, and because of that, I decided to go all the way for your outfits."

"What's the Tailor's name?" Daphne asked, while the other children stood in various stages of shock or delight.

"Taylor." Granny said, urging them on again.

Sabrina snickered again. "Poor guy."

"No kidding." Puck said. "Imagine being named after your profession. How awful."

"We're here." Granny said. "Taylor? It's Relda!"

"Relda!" A young man with pins stuck haphazardly through his clothes came around a corner with a grin. "Long time no see! How are you?"

"Wonderful." Granny said. "And you?"

"As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." Taylor said. "What can I do for you today?"

"I'd like everyone here measured." Granny said. "The children are being fitted for a formal dance, and Jake, Briar and I are all due for a new fitting."

"Right, then." Taylor said. "You men come with me, and the ladies can wait out here until I find my assistant. Marie!" He shouted.

"Who's Marie?" Daphne whispered loudly.

"His wife, Princess Marie." Granny replied. "She's also his assistant."

Marie, a pretty, plump woman wearing practical clothing who looked nothing like a princess, appeared from a doorway. "What, Taylor?"

"Relda wants fittings. Would you?"

"Certainly." Marie smiled. "Come on, girls."

They followed Marie to a back room, where she had them all strip off their outer layers, explaining to the younger ones that you got a better fitting if you went only by what would be on underneath the clothes, then whipped a tape measure efficiently around each of their bodies in turn, writing down a series of names and numbers in the process. While she was measuring the others, the girls looked at a book of dress designs.

In the end, Red picked a (not surprisingly) red below-the-knee frock that was simple, but elegant silk, Daphne a big, yellow princessy gown, Bella a short, flirty, purple thing that Granny made tsking noises over, saying Bella was _much _too young to wear anything like that, and Sabrina a knee-length, off-the shoulder blue dress that, while loose, was flowy and would look quite nice on her thin frame.

Mustardseed caught them on the way back to the car.

"I need to meet with your family soon." He told Granny. "May I come to your house this evening?"

"Certainly." Granny said. "In fact, we were just leaving. You can stay for dinner."

"Thank you." Mustardseed said graciously.

Sabrina gave Puck a look, wishing he was more like his oh-so-polite brother. Puck smirked back at her.

They headed home, then, Uncle Jake dropping them at the door to head back out with Briar. Sabrina winked at him, and Uncle Jake flushed, much to Briar's amazement.

Sabrina realized that the excitement of bringing new clothes home she'd always felt hadn't faded, despite all the changes in her life. That was nice, but, as always, she felt there was something wrong with clothing being one of the high points of your existence.

Granny set about preparing dinner, telling Mustardseed to make himself comfortable. He followed the others to the living room, where he sat down on the easy chair. Daphne sat on the rocker, Red and Bella shared the loveseat, and Sabrina and Puck sat on opposite ends of the couch, Puck stretching out to take up most of the space while Sabrina curled up in the corner.

Sabrina made a face, pushing Puck's feet away as she got up to turn on the TV. She returned to the couch, only to find that Puck had stretched out even further, taking up the whole couch. Sabrina rolled her eyes, then simply sat on Puck's legs.

"So, have any of you decided who you're going to the dance with?" Mustardseed asked over Puck's protesting noises.

"Like a date?" Bella asked.

Mustardseed nodded.

"I don't think I'm going with anyone." Sabrina said. "I doubt I'll get asked, and there's no way I'm asking anyone."

Mustardseed's eyes flicked towards Puck, but before anyone else had time to register that they'd moved, they were back on Sabrina.

Sabrina caught the look, though, and put a hand to her face. "Please don't." She said. "It's not- I'm not- we're not- just _not_, okay?"

"Fine." Mustardseed said. "I'll drop the subject."

"What just happened?" Puck asked Red, who shrugged in return.

"I wonder if I'll get asked." Bella mused quietly. "Imagine, a real date! To a _dance_! I thought when the school closed and all the people left, that was it!"

"Oh, wouldn't it be amazing?" Daphne sighed.

Red shrugged. Sabrina grinned at her.

"Lieblings!" Granny called. "Dinner is ready!"

"Fun." Sabrina said gloomily. "I saw what was on the menu for tonight."

"Which was?" Bella asked, getting up to head for the dining room.

"Mashed potato pie." Sabrina said gloomily. "With octopus suckers and jello."

Bella wrinkled her nose. "_Ew_!" She shrieked.

"That's why I had a big lunch." Sabrina said dryly. "You learn to eat when you can."

"We'll discuss that, later." Granny said, overhearing the conversation. "But for now, let's eat, and Mustardseed can give us his news."

"Hi, Mustardseed." Henry said. "How are you?"

Henry had gained an excellent opinion of Mustardseed in New York City, and he seemed to wish Puck and his brother would switch places.

"Fine, thank you." Mustardseed nodded to Henry. "I have some news I feel your family should know, especially since you can relate it to Charming, who can use the information as he wills. If I knew where the fort was, I would go there afterwards."

"We don't, either." Granny said. "They've always come here."

"I saw it once." Sabrina said. "But I don't think I could find it again unless my life depended on it."

"It may come to that." Mustardseed said.

"Why?" Puck asked sharply. "What happened?"

"Nottingham approached us, and said that if we didn't want a fight, we would give him our prisoners." Mustardseed said. "Mother agreed, and we transported them to the jail. Nottingham released them the next day. This pertains to your family because Moth has a vendetta against Sabrina, but there are other problems."

"Which are...?" Veronica said, not looking up from her food.

"Lack of space." Mustardseed said. "Lack of jobs. Having to get all these people situated. The fact that I'm going to be in school most of the day, and my mother will want me home 'ruling.' The Scarlet Hand and the others- what will we call ourselves, by the way?- mixing in school, where most of the teachers will wish to kill your children. And many other things. There's a large likelihood I'm going to come back later and give you more to worry about."

"The last one shouldn't be an issue." Granny said. "Snow is all that's keeping those teachers from starving, and she will not hesitate to throw them out if the cause problems. She's declared the school neutral ground, and it will stay that way until war breaks out for real."

"There's also a chance that there will be skirmishes before true war breaks out."

"Which is why we're preparing." Granny said. "But they won't happen until the weather is good, and winter comes fast here. Sometimes we don't get thawing from October until May."

"Ah, downtime due to snow." Sabrina said dryly. "We've traded war for freezing."

"Sabrina." Henry said warningly.

Sabrina shut up.

"If there isn't any more depressing news," Henry continued, "let's change the subject."

"Gladly." Mustardseed said. "I'm sorry for ruining your meal."

Sabrina, who had take the opportunity while he was talking to give her food to Elvis under the table, said, "You didn't." thinking, _it was ruined anyway._

"Do you have a date for the dance, Mustardseed?" Henry asked.

"No, sir." Mustardseed said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"I see." Henry said, his eyes sliding to Sabrina. "Anyone in mind?"

Sabrina glared at her father.

"Yes." Mustardseed said. "I'd rather not share, though, unless she and I do end up going together."

"Smart choice." Henry said. "Sabrina, you don't have a date either, isn't that right?"

"Daddy." Sabrina said tightly. "If you're trying to get me and Mustardseed to go together-"

"That's a wonderful idea!" Granny said. "Oh, you two would look absolutely adorable together!"

"...What just happened?" Veronica asked Red, who she was sitting next to.

"I think Sabrina and Mustardseed are going to the dance together." Red said. "But I don't think they knew it yet."

Bella was almost falling off her chair with laughter, while Puck went from looking lost to looking jealous.

"But Sabrina doesn't like Mustardseed, she likes-" Daphne started to say, before a glare from Sabrina shut her up.

"So, I suppose I'll pick you up for the dance in three weeks or so?" Mustardseed asked.

"Sure." Sabrina said. "Sorry about, you know, the whole-"

"It's fine." Mustardseed smiled, standing up. "I don't think I'd have had the courage to ask her out anyway."

Sabrina snorted. "Neither would I. This way we won't be going alone, at least."

"I must be going now." Mustardseed said, leaving. "Goodbye."


	33. Schedules Atop Schedules

**********AN~ Spellcheck has been added!**

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Granny said, "Time for the chore list."

"What chore list?" Baba Yaga asked, entering the room as if summoned.

"Just in time, Old Mother." Granny said, pointing to Mustardseed's vacated chair. "Have a seat."

"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked as Baba Yaga sat down.

Granny pointed to a large chart on the dining room wall. "That." She said.

Sabrina, Daphne, and Henry all got up for better looks. The chart was as follows:

**R Bedroom: **_Relda_

**V & H Bedroom:**_ Veronica_

**S & D Bedroom:**_ Daphne_

**B & R Bedroom:**_ Bella_

**J Bedroom:**_ Jake_

**Bathroom:**_ Sabrina_

**Living Room:**_ Henry_

**Kitchen:**_ Puck_

**Dining Room:**_ Red_

**Hall & Stairwell:**_ Baba Yaga_

"There's another chart on the opposite side of the room." Granny said. "This is the cleaning chart, the other is the meal chart, and there's a third chart on the wall behind you that will show the laundry duty.

Sabrina looked at the laundry chart first. It seemed safer. It read:

Monday

_Sabrina: _**Darks**

_Daphne: _**Brights**

Tuesday

_Bella: _**Lights**

_Red: _**Darks**

Wednesday

_Veronica: _**Brights**

_Baba Yaga: _**Lights**

Thursday

_Relda: _**Darks**

_Puck: _**Brights**

Friday

_Henry: _**Lights**

_Jake: _**Darks**

Finally, Sabrina made her way over to the cooking chart, which was the biggest of them all, and the one that frighterned her the most, because she couldn't cook. It looked like so:

Monday

**Breakfast and Lunch:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Jake BY Red Bella Relda

**Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Henry Daph Ron Brina Puck

Tuesday

**Breakfast:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Henry Daph Ron Brina Puck

**Lunch and Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

BY Red Bella Relda Jake

Wednesday

**Breakfast and Lunch:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Daph Ron Brina Puck Henry

**Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Red Bella Relda Jake BY

Thurdsay

**Breakfast:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Red Bella Relda Jake BY

**Lunch and Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Ron Brina Puck Henry Daph

Friday

**Breakfast and Lunch:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Bella Relda Jake BY Red

**Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Brina Puck Henry Daph Ron

Saturday

**Breakfast:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Brina Puck Henry Daph Ron

**Lunch and Dinner:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Relda Jake BY Red Bella

Sunday

**Breakfast and Lunch:**

_Cook Set Clear Wash Dry_

Puck Henry Daph Ron Brina

**Dinner:**

_All_

Self-done

"Any questions?" Granny asked, once everyone had finished examining the charts and had returned to their seats. "Wait, actually. Let me explain, then you can ask question. We'll start with the Room Cleaning Chart. You can clean your rooms whenever you want, but the room you have may change weekly, especiallly for those of you who share bedrooms. Now, the Laundry Chart, you will each do your laundry on the same day every week, unless you have something very important to do that will keep you from starting a load in the morning and folding it at night. The load you are in charge of will change, though. Please try not to grab the wrong load. The meal chart will stay the same. If your name is under cook, you will be in charge of preparing that meal. If you want to order out for pizza or buy doughnuts, that's fine with me, but it will be your money you pay for it with. Sunday dinner will be leftover night. You are also free to arrange to trade your work with someone else for something, but if your chore is not done, then there will be consequences. _Now_ you can ask questions."

"Why do I have to clean a room?" Puck asked.

"Because you helped make them messy." Granny said. "Next question."

"I don't see why I was included on these lists." Baba Yaga said. "I don't normally eat with you, nor do I spend much time in your house proper."

"I would like it if you became a proper member of the family." Granny said. "But, aside from that, we are offering you shelter, and if it were not for the good will of the people in this room right now, there is a strong chance you would be dead. A show of appreciation would be nice, because I am no longer going to let people take advantage of my generosity. You will work for your place here, or you will leave. This goes for anyone who wishes to stay here."

Elvis, situated under the table, whined.

"Not you, Elvis." Granny said. "Now, are we all in agreement?"

Most of the family nodded meekly, some offering quiet words of affirmation.

"Very well, then." Granny said. "The meeting is over, as I've explained all this to Jake, since I figured he would be with Briar again. Dismissed."

"No wonder she was a general." Daphne muttered to Sabrina, clambering out of her chair. "Or is it 'is'? Or 'will be'?"

"Was in the future works well for me." Sabrina said. "This whole time travel thing is confusing. I'm glad I won't ever do that again."

Bella approached them. "Are you seriously going to go through with the date with Mustardseed?" She asked Sabrina.

Sabrina shrugged. "I might as well. It's not like I had any other dates lined up. And it will make Granny happy."

Puck, overhearing, made a face. "He could have explained. He _should_ have explained."

"Relax, Mr. Overprotective." Bella rolled her eyes. "let Sabrina live a little."

"Whatever, toadie." Puck said, stalking off.

Bella gaped at him. "Is he _serious_?" She asked.

"Relax." Daphne smiled. "It's the way he expresses affection."

"I think he's jealous." Red said quietly.

"Jealous?" Sabrina asked incredulously. "Of _what_?"

"Mustardseed, duh." Daphne said. "And the fact that the two of you are going to the dance together."

Sabrina snorted. "It's not like _he_ was going to ask me."

"Maybe not, but he obviously didn't want anyone else to." Bella said.

"You're all ridiculous." Sabrina said. "I'm going to bed."

Shaking her head, she headed for her room. On the way, she almost bumped into Puck, who was heading for the front door. "Where are _you _going?" She asked.

"To see how Mustardseed likes it." Puck said.

"Wait- what?" Sabrina asked.

"Later, Grimm." Puck said, and he headed for the door.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and went to bed. She was about to fall asleep when she heard a knock on her window. She looked up to see Puck waving at her, mouthing 'can I come in?'

She went to the window and opened it. "Forget your keys, huh?"

Puck nodded and went to move through the window, but Sabrina blocked the way.

"You can come in," She said, "_if_ you tell me where you went."

"Tomorrow, okay?" Puck asked. "It's too late now."

Sabrina didn't like the sound of that. _too late_ could mean any number of things, from _go to bed_ to _there's nothing you can do about it._ Considering Puck had been out of sorts when he let, she leaned more towards the second meaning.

"No." She said firmly. "Either you tell me, or you go bug someone else to let you in. Or you could sleep someplace else." She amended.

Puck sighed. "I went to go ask Renee to the dance."

Sabrina was crushed. But why? It wasn't like she was planning to go with him. In fact, she was going with his brother. But still, it hurt. A lot.

"Go to bed then, jerkface." Sabrina said, moving away from the window hurriedly.

Puck moved to touch her hand, but she jerked back like she'd been burned. She didn't want anything to do with him right then. Puck sighed and left her room, shutting the door behind himself more quietly than usual. Sabrina slammed the window shut and climbed back into bed.

After an hour and a half of tossing and turning, she gave up on resting, and flicked on the light. If she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well get something useful done. She picked up Anastasia's journal and flipped to her bookmark, beginning where she'd left off.

She gleaned several important things from her reading that night.

1. The sword Anastasia kept mentioning was, in fact, several swords that were connected.

2. The swords had a guardian.

3. The swords were ancient.

4. They, and some book, had been given to the Grimms for safekeeping. Wilhelm took the swords, and Jakob took the book.

5. Both were said to be relics left over from the first everafters ever, all of whom were infinitely more powerful than any everafter alive, save the Blue Fairy.

6. The journal of Francis Grimm would explain that in much more detail.

Sabrina had made up her mind to go in search of Francis' journal, but she decided that a few more minutes with the book wouldn't hurt anything. She didn't even remember falling asleep.

* * *

"Good morning." Snow said cheerily.

Sabrina and Puck, who were in the process of pretending neither of them was mad at the other for going to the dance with someone else, grunted in unison.

"Come back in an hour." Daphne said. "They'll be awake then."

"Sorry." Snow said. "The teachers are going out personally to give people their test scores as well as their schedules-"

"I thought those weren't due for another few days." Henry said.

"We got the grading done a lot faster than I planned." Snow said. "Anyway, I have a lot more houses to visit today, so would you mind making this quick?"

"Certainly." Jacob said, standing. "Please, have a seat. I'll go work on my room."

Snow took the vacated seat and looked around the table at the others in their varying states of sleepiness. "I'll start with Daphne, since she's the most awake."

Daphne sat up, her interest perked.

"You did excessively well." Snow said. "Especially in foreign languages. You're on third grade level in history, science, and math, which is right where you should be, a fifth grade level in English, and you have a smattering of knowledge of most of the languages I was able to put on the test. Very good job, Daphne."

"Thank you!" Daphne beamed. "What's my schedule?"

"English, gym, math, science, lunch, history, study hall, teaching certification, and French." Snow said. "We don't have any other electives than that at the moment, I'm sorry."

"That's fine." Daphne said, still smiling, taking her schedule from Snow and handing Red hers.

"Red, your schedule is quite similar to Daphne's." Snow said. "I switched the study hall and the French class, though, because you have almost no knowledge of the language. Your English is at a lower level, also, but as I will be teaching that, I believe we can make an exception."

"Thank you." Red smiled shyly, not looking Snow in the eye.

"You're perfectly welcome, dear." Snow said. "Bella."

Bella looked up. "Yes?"

"You were on a seventh grade level for everything but science, which you are up to at least ninth grade in. Here's your schedule."

Snow handed Bella a paper, passing the one underneath it to Sabrina.

"You did remarkabley well, Sabrina." She said. "Especially considering your spotty education. You made it up to seventh grade level on everything but English. There, you're on about a tenth grader's level. There are some books you need to read, but we'll worry about that later."

Sabrina blinked. That was better than she'd hoped for.

"Now, Puck." Snow said. "Your results were the most... surprising. I was led by your mother to believe that you had almost no formal education, and that I shouldn't be alarmed if your results were majorly below average. This is not the case."

Puck looked at her with raised eyebrows, taking his schedule.

"Your science grade leaves something to be desired." Snow said dryly. "It's on par with a sixth grader's, maybe. Except where it involves mechanics. Your English, history, and foreign language grades are average, but your math grade- you're very, very good at math, Puck. Thank you for surprisng me."

"Ummm... you're welcome?" Puck said, glancing at his schedule.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Snow said cheerfully, handing Henry a sheaf of papers. "See you on the fifth!"

"_Very _nice job, all of you." Henry said approvingly. "Let's hear your schedules, older three."

"Teacher certification." Sabrina said. "Then gym, English, history, lunch, French, study hall, science, and math."

"My math and science are different." Puck said.

"My math is the same." Bella said, "but my science and history are switched."

"So you'll all be in two classes together." Granny said approvingly. "Puck, I want you to look after the girls whenever you're with them. There are plenty of everafters in that place that won't care about any treaty, and they have barely any training. Red, please look after Daphne- and vice verse- whenever you're with each other. I'll have to find someone else to do it during last period. Bella and Sabrina, watch each other's backs in math. Sabrina, be very careful in science until I find someone to watch you."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, but smiled. "I'll be fine, Granny."

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Daphne said. "School starts in like, a week!"

"School means _work_, Marshmellow." Puck said. "Why are you excited about that?"

"Well, there's the back to school dance!" Daphne said. "And your friend Art was _so_ nice! I mean, he overheard me wishing I had someone to go with, and he told me he'd go with me! Can you believe it? A real date!"

"_not_ a real date." Sab_rina said. _"Art is physically older than me. From what I know of him, he's not got a mean bone in his body, but he is_ too old_ for you. You're going as friends."

"I know, but it's still a date!" Daphne said.

"Sort of." Red said quietly. "And Sabrina, five years isn't _that_ long."

"It is when you're eight." Sabrina said adamantly.

"You're just jealous that her first date is four years before yours." Bella teased. "Now come on, I want to talk with you about back to school outfits."

Protesting that she couldn't care less about that, Sabrina let Bella lead her out of the room, to the other's laughter.


	34. Zhe Dahnce!

The evening of the dance was finally upon them. Sabrina had, in defiance to Puck, allowed Bella to give her a makeover, and the two of them had settled on a simple updo, a bit of blue eyeshadow, some mascara and lip gloss, and the tiniest bit of cover-up on the zits that had just started popping up on her cheeks. The result was that Sabrina looked nice. Not beautiful (though it was hard to feel beautiful in a town full of princesses, especially Snow White), but very pretty.

Puck confirmed that when he entered the hallway where the girls were waiting for a ride to the school. He stopped for a good five seconds and just gaped at Sabrina, before shaking himself and continuing towards the door.

"Well?" Daphne asked him impatiently.

Puck turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Well what?"

"Well, how do we look?" Daphne said, using her best 'duh' voice.

"Fine, I guess." Puck said.

"Thanks for the backhanded compliment." Bella said dryly.

Sabrina made a big show of ignoring Puck completely.

Red giggled. "Well, he can't exactly say we look awful, because you'd kill him, but if he says we look great, then he'll mess with his reputation, which we all know has had enough hits recently that he can't risk any more."

Sabrina blinked. "I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you make."

Red blushed and giggled again.

The doorbell rang then, and Daphne ran to get it while Sabrina returned to ignoring Puck. Mustardseed and Renee were at the door. Renee ran quickly to Puck, giving him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. Puck put up with her treatment with an expression of stoicism, watching Mustardseed for his reaction.

Mustardseed, for his part, pointedly looked only at Sabrina, walking towards her much more sedately.

"You look lovely." He said, smiling at Sabrina.

Sabrina smiled back, mirroring the odd look in his eyes. "Thanks." She said.

"The rest of you do, also." Mustardseed said, looking at the other girls. "Especially you, Red. That color suits you perfectly."

Red blushed and looked down, though Sabrina could have sworn that she stuck her tongue out in Daphne's direction. Daphne, who had been trying to get Red to venture into a wider color scheme, sneered back, while Sabrina watched and chuckled.

"Shall we, then?" Henry asked, entering the hall. "You look beautiful, girls. Though I may be a little prejudiced in favor of my own two." He smiled at Sabrina and Daphne, who both smiled back.

"Will we all fit in your van?" Mustardseed asked.

Henry did a short head count. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven- eight. No. I can fit all but one of you. If-"

"I can fly." Puck said quickly, extricating himself from Renee's grasp. "See you all at the school."

Sabrina, strangely happy that Renee and Puck were no longer attached, pretended not to watch him fly off as she climbed into the van with the others, snagging the front seat with a little more cheer than was absolutely necessary and smiling when Mustardseed gave her a grateful look as he and Renee were tucked together into the center bench seat. Bella, Daphne, and Red all tried to squeeze together into the back without raising a fuss. Once they were all safely stowed away, Henry revved the engine and headed for the school. They made it there with no major mishaps, and Henry kissed Sabrina's cheek on the way out.

"How did you grow up so fast?" He whispered to her quietly. "One minute you were learning to ride a bike, and I turn around, and you're on your first date."

"It's not really a _date_, Dad." Sabrina said. "Mustardseed and I are just friends."

"That's comforting, at least." Henry said dryly, putting the car back in gear and pulling away.

"Come on, then." Mustardseed said with a small, halfhearted smile, gesturing towards the doorway.

Sabrina quirked a half-grin back at him and led the way into the building. Inside, most of the tables had been moved off to the sides, leaving a large empty space where a few couples and large groups congregated, bouncing awkwardly to the beat of the music coming out of a makeshift DJ booth with, of all people, Momma behind it. The lights were, for the most part, off, though Momma had a few disco ball-type things on top of the speakers. Most of the kids were sitting or standing by the tables with snacks or sodas, looking awkward. Daphne was already out on the dance floor, acting crazy with Art, who looked extremely amused by the pint-sized bundle of energy, and several other kids, most of whom were her own age. Art seemed perfectly happy to be hanging out with people half his age and a quarter of his size. Mustardseed and Sabrina, after a brief consultation, headed over to a wall away from most of the other people, and leaned against it.

After a while, Mustardseed asked, "Are you sure you don't want to dance?"

"I'm no good." Sabrina said, her eyes on Puck as Renee dragged him onto the dance floor.

"Neither are any of them." Mustardseed said. "Or of they are, they aren't trying." He turned to see what Renee was doing, then turned back, sighing.

"No thanks." Sabrina said.

There was silence for a time.

"That color looks lovely on you, by the way." Mustardseed said quietly, giving up on ignoring Puck and Renee.

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled wryly, still looking at the other two. "Same to you."

"Are you sure you don't want to dance?" Mustardseed repeated.

"Positive." Sabrina said.

"Then I'm going to go get us some drinks." Mustardseed said. "Any preferences?"

"Sprite." Sabrina said. "Thanks."

Mustardseed nodded and walked off, leaving Sabrina alone with her muddled thoughts.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Bella asked, coming up suddenly.

"No good." Sabrina said, still not taking her eyes off Puck. "How's Wendell?"

"I haven't seen him yet." Bella said. "Where's Mustardseed?"

"Getting drinks." Sabrina said. "And there's Wendell." She pointed to the opposite wall. "Go ask him to dance."

"Not brave enough." Bella said. "Besides, this isn't a good song for it."

"What if I asked him for you?" Sabrina said, wondering where this sudden desire to get rid of Bella was coming from.

"I dunno..." Bella said.

"I'll tell him you don't have a date and make up something that won't let on that you really like him, just in case." Sabrina wheedled.

"But I'd be leaving you all alone!" Bella said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Bella. I don't need someone else's company to survive. Mustardseed will be back in a minute. Now either go ask Wendell or I'll do it for you."

"Fine." Bella gave in. "But I am getting you on that dance floor sometime tonight."

"You do that." Sabrina said absently, walking towards Wendell. "Wendell!" She called once she got close enough. "How've you been?"

"Oh, hi, Sabrina!" Wendell said, looking surprised. "I thought you'd be with Puck."

Sabrina glared. "The trickster king," She said tightly, "Is here with someone else. We are not together. Nor will we ever be. Why does everyone think that?"

"Sorry!" Wendell said, backing up- into a wall- his hands raised in the air. "It's just- I mean-"

"Never mind." Sabrina said. "I'm not having such a great night, all right? Listen, though. You know Bella?"

"Bella Amphibian?" Wendell said, his eyes lighting up.

"That's the one." Sabrina said. "She's here without a date tonight, and she wants to dance with someone and-"

"Are you suggesting-?" Wendell interrupted. "I dunno..."

"Come on." Sabrina said. "You can't be any worse than the rest of those people out there. I mean, seriously. You'd think _some_ of them knew how to dance, being everafters and all..."

"Maybe they're embarassed." Wendell suggested.

Sabrina grinned. "Does that mean you'll do it?"

Wendell hedged for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Great!" Sabrina grinned. "She's right over there."

She watched as Wendell headed for Bella and the two walked onto the dance floor, feeling accomplished for a few seconds before relapsing into melancholy. Let Bella be happy someplace else.

"So, sugar?" Momma asked.

"Huh?" Sabrina asked.

"You told me to ask you if you liked him in a month. It's been over that long."

"I still don't have an answer for you." Sabrina said. "I've been busy, and... well, maybe I was avoiding it."

"Why?" Momma asked.

"Huh?" Sabrina looked away from Renee and Puck for a minute to glance at Momma.

"Why have you been avoiding it?" Momma repeated patiently.

"Because..." Sabrina said, "Because maybe the answer's yes. And if it is, that'll complicate things. We're finally getting comfortable being friends, and if these _feelings_ start getting in the way again..."

"You don't do well with emotion, do you?" Momma asked.

"It was a weakness in the orphanage." Sabrina said. "It might still be a weakness now."

"Tell you what." Momma said. "You go home an make a list of pros and cons about him, and next time I see you, give it to me. Emotions ain't bad, sweetheart. Open up a little, and let your heart have some say."

"I don't know if I can." Sabrina said. "Whenever I let my heart rule my head, something bad happens."

"I didn't say let you heart be in _charge_." Momma said. "But let it speak up now and then. You write that list, and we'll talk it over, see if you do like him."

"Fine." Sabrina said, deciding to end the conversation quickly, because she could see Mustardseed approaching. "When will I see you?"

"Dunno." Momma said. "May be I end up working in the lunch line. Barring that, though, I'll swing by on Saturday."

"There you are." Mustardseed said, handing Sabrina a bottle of Sprite, "Why did you leave? Hello, Momma."

"Hey, your majesty." Momma chuckled. "Didn't see you two as a date."

"My dad and Granny Relda roped us into it." Sabrina said dryly. "It's not official."

"I get the feeling your father was attempting to make sure someone he approves of got to you first, before someone else asked." Mustardseed quirked a half smile. "It's unfortunate for his protective instincts that I am uninterested in you as more than a friend."

"You two danced anything tonight?" Momma asked. "'Cause I'm about to play the cha cha slide. or Cotton Eyed Joe. Your choice."

"Do I have to go out there?" Sabrina asked. "I'm not really the epitome of grace."

"You'll be just as good as any of them. Go dance."

"Cha cha slide." Sabrina said, putting her drink on a speaker and heading for the dance floor with a distinctly martyred air.

Momma chuckled and watched her go. "She's gonna hate me for what I do next."

"What are you planning?" Mustardseed asked warily.

"You seen Enchanted?" Momma asked.

"The horrible movie that distorts fairy tales about a princess who ends up in New York City?" Mustardseed said. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, I'm pullin' a page from their book. The next dance is going to be one where not-a-couples are together."

"That always seemed like a bit of a plothole to me." Mustardseed said. "It's such a random choice. Before now, I don't believe anyone would ever do it."

"Well, I know _you _aren't with the girl you want, and _she_ isn't with the boy she wants, and a whole bunch of other kids just didn't have the courage to ask the people they like..." Momma trailed off.

Mustardseed grinned. "May I make a song suggestion?"

"Howsat?" Momma drawled.

"The Long and Winding Road, by the Beatles. I know for a fact Sabrina likes that song." Mustardseed said. "Quite a bit."

Momma grinned. "I may just take your suggestion, if you get out there and do some dancing yourself."

"Aye aye, captain!" Mustardseed made a mocking salute and went to join the others who were sliiiiiiiiiiiding to the right, or the left, and hopping as the 'singer' directed them.

Towards the end of the song, Sabrina had somehow been submerged within the group, despite starting out relatively near the edge, and when the song ended, she was having an extremely difficult time making her way out of the crowd, unhelped by the fact that she was surrounded by friends, most of whom were begging her to stay. She was just about to try and force her way out when Momma spoke up.

"This next song, I'd like you all to dance with someone you did not come with." She said into the microphone. "And I want to see all of you out here on the dance floor for this one song at least, please. Have a little fun, people!"

Sabrina watched helplessly as the throng around her thickened. There was no way she would make it out now. Art looked at Daphne, shrugged, then turned to Red, who had been dragged onto the dance floor beside her more boisterouse friend. The two paired up, and moved off to find more space; Daphne had found Tiny Tim in his wheelchair and was spinning it around cheerfully; Bella and Wendell found each other again quickly; and Sabrina was sure Mustardseed had taken the opportunity to steal Renee back from Puck.

"May as well." Puck said in her ear.

"Roped us into this quite nicely, didn't she?" Sabrina replied, turning to him.

Puck slipped both his hands onto her hips and raised an eyebrow. "You speaking to me again?"

"Maybe." Sabrina said, slipping her arms around his neck. "You done messing with your poor innocent brother, who was roped into this and didn't want to go with me in the first place? That _is _why you asked Renee, yes?"

"Well, I _thought_ he liked her, but..." Puck swayed to the music.

"He does." Sabrina said. "A lot. So be nice to him and tell her you don't like her. Unless you do." She amended.

"Not like that." Puck shuddered fiercely.

Sabrina's heart lifted from the pit it had been in since Puck told her who he'd asked to the dance._ Stop that._ She told it absently. "It's kind of cruel to be leading her on like that." She said mildly.

"So I'll tell her sorry." Puck said airily.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You do that. But don't come running to me when she screams at you."

There was silence for a while.

"People are staring." Puck said, looking over Sabrina's shoulder at one such couple on the crowded dance floor.

"Either they're shocked that we're dancing together, or that we didn't come together." Sabrina said. "I hope it's the first one. I'm getting tired of people asking if we're dating."

"Tell me about it." Puck said. "Can't a guy and a girl just be friends without it being more than that?"

"Apparently not." Sabrina said distastefully. "People are always looking for romance."

"People are weird." Puck said.

"Tell me about it." Sabrina replied. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't human, but then I remember- oh wait, I'm not! And then I'm like, duh."

"Grimm, I think you've had too much soda." Puck said, laughing.

"Probably." Sabrina said. "Let's hope we never see me drunk."

Puck shuddered again. "The very thought terrifies me."

The song ended then, and they separated. Sabrina was going to head off the dance floor, but then Cotton Eyed Joe started up, and Daphne begged her to stay. She did, but after that song was over, she headed back for the DJ booth, exhausted.

Moth was there.

"I see you didn't come with Puck." She said acidly.

"Hello, Moth." Sabrina said cheerfully. "Kill anyone recently?"

"Not in quite some time." Moth replied. "How's your stomach?"

"Quite good, all in all." Sabrina said. "Poison really cleared out my system, actually. Thanks so much."

"Not quite what I was aiming for, but I suppose you're welcome." Moth said dryly.

Sabrina realized that she was enojying this verbal sparring match. "I'm glad. It's so nice to ruin an evil scheme. Have any more in the works?"

"Well, I was considering Charming's army, but they let just _anyone_ in there." Moth said. "I may speak with Heart about Hand membership."

"I wish you the best of luck." Sabrina said. "They were running short on airheads."

"Girls, that's enough." Momma interrupted. "Moth, why don't you run off? There's a good girl."

"Aw, Momma!" Sabrina whined. "I was having fun!"

"Battle wits with her some other time." Momma said. "I want to keep this thing peaceful."

The rest of the evening passed by better than the beginning had. Sabrina danced twice with Mustardseed and a few times with some of the other boys she knew, under the combined influence of too much Sprite and her friends' consistent begging, sat around and talked for a while, and set about relearning what exactly it was to be a normal kid. When time came to go home, she was thoroughly exhausted and quite happy. She considered the dance a complete success.


	35. Busy Morning

"I'll take you home." Puck told Renee. "There's something I want to talk to you about.

Renee smiled at him flirtatiously, and Sabrina bit back a desire to slap her. What was wrong with her? Besides, Puck was just going to tell her he didn't like her. That was all. Renee was _majorly _confused.

She wasn't the only one.

Puck, holding Renee- at arm's length, Sabrina noted with satisfaction- and Mustardseed all flew off in the direction most of the New York City everafters lived as Sabrina, Daphne, Red, and Bella clambered into the minivan. Bella snagged the front seat that time, but Sabrina got the middle row to herself, so she wasn't too upset. The ride home was quiet, almost peaceful, as Henry drove through the darkness. They were all exhausted. That realization led Sabrina to the knowledge that nobody would have had a good night's sleep for the first day of school.

"Great idea, Snow." She muttered.

"What's that, sweetheart?" Henry asked.

"Nothing, Daddy." Sabrina replied. "Just thinking how tired we're all going to be tomorrow."

"That's right." Henry chuckled. "But I think that if you eat a big breakfast, you at least will be fine."

"And Daphne's always a bundle of energy." Sabrina said. "So is Puck, for that matter. But everyone else-"

"Will need coffee." Henry finished. "We're almost home. Would you wake up the two in the back? I can get Bella."

Sabrina shook Red lightly and then the two of them knocked Daphne around until she woke up. By that time, they were home, and they piled out of the car to find Puck waiting for them.

"Forgot my keys again." Puck said.

That was at least the fifth time in three weeks. Sabrina got the feeling he'd lost them, not forgotten them.

How'd your talk go?" She asked. She'd conquer the key later.

"You owe me." Puck said. "She was _not _happy. Oh, she's probably going to yell at you tomorrow."

"Great." Sabrina said wearily. "Then I'm going to go to bed and prepare to face all the people who hate my guts."

"I hate your guts, too." Daphne said. "I like you, but guts are disgusting."

"They are." Puck said. "All squishy and pink and wet and full of half-digested food-"

"Go to bed." Sabrina interrupted. "I don't want to know how you know that, but you're both exhausted and need to sleep."

"Yes ma'am!" Bella said.

Red saluted her and walked off to be. Daphne giggled her way up the stairs, and Puck bowed at her tipsily before following them. Sabrina rolled her eyes before heading upstairs herself.

Once in her room, she began making the list for Momma, just in case she showed up at school the next day. At the end, after much thought and a series of scribbles punctuated by periods where the only sound was Daphne snoring, her list looked like so:

Cons

prankster

**EGO**

annoying

hurtful

immature

hygiene habits

Pros

can be sweet

saves me. A lot.

smart

understanding

gives good advice (sometimes)

cute (when clean)

brave

knows how to have fun

By the time she had written that much, she was thoroughly exhausted and more than a little worried by her results. She dropped into bed with her list swimming around in her mind, and had dreams that disturbed her more than nightmares did.

When she woke the next morning, she shook her head, trying to clear those images out of her brain, grabbed the list, and ran downstairs.

"Morning Mom, morning Granny!" She called, slipping the paper into her backpack and grabbing a slice of toast before racing out of the kitchen again to the bathroom, where she spent several blissful minutes washing her dreams away in the hot water. She emerged again, clean and happy but still wearing her pajamas.

"Good morning, _liebling_." Granny said. "Have some pancakes."

"Don 't mind if I do." Sabrina said, sitting down. "What time is it?"

"Barely after six." Granny said. "You're up early."

"I had some weird dreams last night." Sabrina said, taking a few pancakes and buttering them. "I didn't sleep so well."

"What about?" Granny asked.

Sabrina blushed, deliberately _not_ thinking of Puck. "I can't really remember." She bluffed. "Is anyone else up yet?"

"I saw Bella a while ago." Granny said. "She mentioned wanting a lot of time to get ready."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, her mouth full of pancakes. "That's Bella for you."

"She wants you to wait for her to get dressed." Veronica said absently, dropping a few sausages onto Sabrina's plate.

Sabrina just nodded, focusing on eating.

By the time she had eaten her full of pancakes and made sure that she had everything she needed for the day, including her schedule, a map of the school, and some papers Henry had signed, everyone else had come down and was either finished with or was in the process of finishing their food.

"Granny!" Bella whined, "I can't get in the bathroom!"

"Jake is giving Puck a shower." Granny said. "Use your bedroom mirror."

"But Red won't let me in!" Bella complained.

"You scared her." Daphne said, swallowing a mouthful of sausage. "She can dress herself, you know."

"But I do it better!" Bella protested.

"Play barbie with Sabrina." Veronica said. "They're eight, they don't need to look like models."

"Fine." Bella said, grabbing Sabrina's hand and dragging her upstairs. "Come on, Sabrina you're going to look amazing!"

Sabrina looked skeptically at Bella, who was wearing a blue minidress and black leggings under a leather jacket.

"I don't want to look like that." She said. "I'd like to be able to move."

"You can move in leggings!" Bella protested.

"I can move better in jeans." Sabrina said, pulling on a pair of old, ripped blue jeans with various stains. She slipped out of her pajama bottoms, having long since become comfortable with Bella seeing her underwear, and pulled on the jeans.

"You're wearing _those_?" Bella wailed. "They're disgusting!"

"They're _comfortable_." Sabrina said. "And you _bought _ripped jeans with paint on them. Mine have character."

"Well, at least wear something nice on top." Bella said, flourishing a pink ruffly thing.

Sabrina made a face. "Ew. Get me something else. Anything else."

"How's this?" Bella pulled out a simple white spaghetti strapped shirt/dress thing with blue designs.

Sabrina sighed in defeat. She put out a hand and once Bella dropped the shirt into it, slipped it on, grateful for the low back that let her wings free. After that, she pulled on a big gray hoodie. "I've _got_ to find that spell Puck puts on his clothes." She muttered.

"It would be nice if you could just pull your wings back in." Bella said. "Mind if I do my makeup in here? You've got a nice, big mirror."

"Sure." Sabrina said, waving a hand as she dug around through the closet for her sneakers. "I tried it once. The scars never completely closed up. I can get them most of the way flat, but my clothes get in the way, and it gets really uncomfortable. Which is why I need to find that spell. It would make it much easier to hide them."

Bella, who was making an amusing face as she applied her makeup, mumbled, "Mmm-hmmm. Why are you hiding it, again?"

"Found them!" Sabrina said, holding up a pair of black high-tops. "I'm hiding it because Granny thinks that if the Hand finds out what I can do they'll do anything to get me on their side."

"Probably." Bella said. "Your grandma's usually right."

"She is." Sabrina said. "Can you pass me a pair of socks?"

"Right." Bella said, putting down a container of mascara. "Where?"

"Top left drawer." Sabrina said.

Bella tossed Sabrina a pair of socks, then picked up a stick of lipgloss. Sabrina pulled the socks on and began lacing up her shoes while Bella finished up her makeup.

"Come here." Bella said. "Your turn."

Sabrina tied her remaining shoe, then sat down on the edge of the dresser and submitted to Bella's primping, but stopped her after the mascara and lipgloss.

"No more." She said. "And none at all unless it's a special occasion anymore."

"But you look so nice with makeup!" Bella complained.

"If makeup makes me look good, then I must at least look acceptable without it, and I might as well save the makeup for a special occasion. It would make more of an impression that way."

"Fine." Bella said with a sigh. "I like to look my best every day, though. And if my crush lived in the same house as me-"

"He's not." Sabrina said, though not as firmly as she normally would have. "And even if he was, he's seen me without makeup for almost a year, so why start now?"

"Whatever." Bella said, leading the way downstairs. "How are we getting to school?"

"Bus." Henry said. "I have stuff to do, and Jake took the other car. I suppose you could take the chicken house-"

"_No_." Sabrina said. "That thing bounces like crazy."

"Then you'd better hurry up and get outside." Granny said, looking out the window. "I can see the bus at the bottom of the road."

With a chorus of goodbyes, Sabrina and Bella rand down the driveway to join the other three kids waiting for the bus.

"Another reason not to wear makeup." Sabrina told Bella as they climbed onto the bus behind Puck.

"Makeup?" Puck asked. "Why would you need to wear that?"

"Because it makes you look prettier!" Bella said. "Except, on you it would look really weird. Scratch that. It makes _girls_ look prettier."

And this is important because...? Puck asked, sitting down next to Mustardseed.

"I believe what my brother is attempting to say," Mustardseed cut in as Sabrina and Bella sat down nearby, "Is that both of you would look perfectly fine without any facial enhancement."

"What's enhancement?" Daphne asked, leaning forward.

"It means to make something stand out more, or be better." Sabrina replied.

"Oh." Daphne said. "There's not a lot of people on the bus this morning."

"Maybe we're an early stop." Red suggested.

That turned out to be the case, because by the time they reached the school, there were over seventy kids of various ages sitting on the bus.

"A lot of these people look old enough to drive." Sabrina said. "Why don't they? Or get rides from their parents?"

"It's very difficult for everafters to get their driver's licences." Mustardseed said. "Many don't even try. Also, I believe that the first day Snow requested that everyone take the bus."

"Granny mentioned that." Daphne said.

"Then why did dad give us other reasons?" Sabrina asked Bella.

Bella shrugged. "Maybe so we get used to taking it? It'll be a lot easier for him."

"True." Sabrina said.

Daphne said, "Sabrina's secret's bound to come out sometime, and then we'd have enough wingpower to get all of us here."

"But what about when it rains?" Sabrina said. "I mean, I could probably do something about that, but it's tiring, and it's not good for the environment to do things like that all the time."

"Maybe it's better to just take the bus all the time anyway." Red said quietly. "Because if it starts to get really bad- they said it would, even before the war really starts- well, if that happens, then the buses are still neutral."

"Good point." Bella said to Red approvingly. "You notice a lot, don't you?"

"A whole lot." Daphne agreed, standing up as the bus began to clear out. "It's probably because she barely ever talks. You hear a lot more with your mouth shut."

"Coming from a girl who talks 24/7." Sabrina teased, inching her way forward along with the rest of the students.

Daphne shrugged. "She can be the ears, and I'll be the mouth. You can be the eyes."

"What about me?" Puck whined. "What am I?"

"The feet." Sabrina said.

"The feet?" Puck said incredulously. "Why feet?"

"Because you smell bad," Sabrina said. "Plus, you're our main mode of transportation. But mostly you stink."

"What's Granny?" Daphne asked. "The hands?"

"The brain." Sabrina said. "Uncle Jake's probably the hands."

And Mr. Canis is the nose! Daphne grinned.

"What about your parents?" Red asked, climbing off the bus.

"Mom's the hair." Daphne said. "She has _gorgeous_ hair."

"Dad's the skin, probably." Sabrina said. "He's always hurt by whatever happens to any of the rest of us."

"Would you like to be something?" Daphne asked Mustardseed, pushing the door to the school open. "We could make you a leg, maybe, or a spleen..."

Mustardseed chuckled. "No, thank you. Your family's body will just have to be incomplete."

"We forgot Elvis!" Daphne said. "_He_ can be the spleen!"

Sabrina passed a hand over her face. "Oh my. Daph, just sit down and let Snow make her speech."

They did so, and once everyone was seated, Snow began.

"Welcome to school, everyone!" She called through the microphone. "Homeroom is going to start a little late today because I'm talking to you all, but I'm sure your teachers will compensate. Now, you all know how the schedule works. Eight forty minute periods with a forty minute lunch break and five minutes between each class and five extra minutes in first period for homeroom business. I'm sure none of you have lost your maps, but just in case you have, rooms seventeen through twenty-one are on the floor above me, as well as another set of bathrooms and the library, rooms twenty-five through thirty-four the floor above that, and the gym is in the floor directly above. Please do _not _go any higher than that, that's the teacher's quarters."

"How many floors does this thing have?" Bella murmured.

"Just the ones she mentioned and an attic." Daphne replied.

"Have a great year, everyone!" Snow finished.

Sabrina got up and set off for first period. School had officially begun.


	36. Revelations

**********AN~ ********It has come to my attention that this story needs an edit. I'm working on that, slowly. And noticing how many stupid and pointless ANs I had...**

* * *

Sabrina stood with the other thirty or so students in Ms. Smirt's first period Teacher Certification class, waiting to be assigned a seat, watching as the other students were called on and seated. After a few minutes, though, she got bored turned away to whisper with Puck.

Ms. Smirt continued to drone off names. The only interesting part was how the students replied. Instead of the basic 'here,' it had become sort of a competition to see who could come up with the most interesting, coolest, or funniest way to announce themselves. The greetings ranged from 'yo' to 'whassup' to a two-fingered salute to a nod.

"Sabrina Grimm." Ms. Smirt called out suddenly.

"Huh?" Sabrina asked, swinging her head around.

The class erupted into quiet laughter and some muffled applause.

"Sit there, please." Ms. Smirt said tightly.

Sabrina, her face turning red, took the seat directly behind Puck.

"That was probably the winner." Puck whispered as roll call resumed. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"Because I didn't _mean_ it to be funny!" Sabrina whispered back. "I just wasn't paying attention."

"Well it was funny anyway." Puck said. "Rule of life number one: even if it wasn't on purpose, pretend it was, and nobody will no better. Saves face a lot."

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "I'll remember that."

"No problem." Puck replied.

"Sh!" Sabrina said. "She's on Xavier."

"Well, now that that's done, we can get on with it." Ms. Smirt said. "Don't expect me to know your names unless you get into trouble often. You're only here for a marking period, and I am not going to learn over two hundred names for less than three months."

"Of course, if we forget _her _name, we'll get a detention." Sabrina said dryly to Puck, who snickered.

Ms. Smirt continued, "The last month of class, each of you will teach for one day in this classroom and one day in another class. That will serve as your final. Before then, we will study the art of successfully instructing a group on a topic, starting tomorrow, as we are running short of time today. I expect you all to file into your seats quietly and stay there while I call roll and instruct you. I will not put up with any misbehavior. No drinking, no eating, no bathroom passes, no talking while I talk, no asking a question without raising your hand, or speaking unless I call on you, no lateness, no exceptions. If you break a rule, you get one warning, then you get a lunch detention. After that come after school detentions, then Saturday-"

The bell rang then, and Sabrina heaved a sigh of relief as she picked up her bag and headed out of the room to her next class. She arrived in the gym with a few seconds to spare, then found Bella, nodding for Puck to follow her.

"_There _you are!" Bella called. "I completely lost you."

"Poor Bella." Sabrina said. "All by yourself in Ms. Smirt's class. I weep for you."

"I laugh at you." Puck said. "But that's just me."

"Actually, it'll probably make it easier for you to not get in trouble. This way you won't be tempted to talk during class." Daphne said, coming up to them, pulling Red behind her. "Oh, and don't look now, but guess who's in our gym class?"

Sabrina turned, and immediately wished she hadn't. "Great." She muttered. "First Smirt, then Moth, what next?"

"Toby and Natalie." Bella said in horror.

"Uh-oh." Sabrina said. "And it looks like they have friends."

"So do we." Puck pointed out. "Mustardseed and Art are here. So is Renee, and Jonas, but Renee's _not_ happy with me, and you can never be sure about Jonas..."

"There's a lot more people in this class than in the last one." Sabrina said. "I'd say at least fifty."

"Gym classes are usually bigger." Bella said. "I don't know why."

"Probably because it's not just our grade." Red said quietly. "There's probably just one or two classes for each of the other grade levels."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Sabrina said. "'Course, that means most of our classes are going to have the same people."

"_Listen up_!" A deep voice bellowed. "I'm gonna call roll now, and if you're not here, we will have a problem!"

Their teacher proceeded to do so, and all the students listened meekly for their names.

"Right." The bellower, otherwise known as The Beast, continued. "I'll learn your names soon, and we won't have to go through this anymore. Now, my job is to teach you all the required curriculum, then get on to physical training. I know some of you are in the Scarlet Hand, and you may think that gets you ahead in this class, but I treat all of you _equally_! Get that, Natalie? _Equal."_

Natalie winced as her father roared in her face.

"We're going to start with health." The Beast continued levelly. "You can call me Sir, probably should have said that at the start. We are going to sit over there, go through the health book, and do everything you can. Let's _go, people_!"

The students filed meekly to the desks and chairs, which Sabrina could have sworn weren't there before, and each of them sat down. The Beast went around the rows, marking names off on a seating chart and passing out papers.

"You sit there for the rest of the marking period, kiddos!" The Beast said. "You sealed your fate! Nope!" He shouted, as a girl got up to change her seat. "You stay _put_! Now, the papers I passed out are tests of what you have to cover in health class for all of time! You have tonight to study and answer what you can! The stuff you all know we won't cover. I'd suggest studying in groups so we can move on faster. The less we have to learn at the start, the more time we have to review for the final, which will look _exactly_ like this!"

"Does his voice get hoarse from all that shouting?" Bella whispered to Sabrina.

Sabrina shrugged as the Beast continued to bellow.

"The other paper is a list of games! You will, at the beginning of next marking period, have a chance to tell me you know the rules of those games. The ones you all know we won't have to study. We'll spend one day on all of those games, unless I believe it will help you survive the war. Because, kiddies, my job is to make you _all_ get out of this alive. If you die, you fail! Get it?"

Puck snickered.

"Once we get through all the games and this marking period, then we get on to the fun part! Training! You will learn to wield a sword, ride a horse, shoot a bow, punch, shoot a gun, kick, use knives, use clubs, and any other weapon I can think of! Those of you with magic powers will learn to control them and use them more efficiently! If I have to bring in a specialist on your talent, I will, because it's my job to make you all the _best_ fighters you can be! Now get studying!"

The rest of the class was spent marking off answers one or another of the students knew, forming three study guides. There were the Scarlet Hand children, about twenty of the students, one one side of the room, the Grimm-supporters, maybe fifteen kids in the opposite corner, and another fifteen or so in the center of the room, the undecided.

"We have to get them on our side." Daphne said, looking at the neutrals on the way to their next classes.

Sabrina made a face. "Great. I'm not good at that whole socialization thing."

"We'll help you." Bella said. "And Red."

"See you!" Daphne shouted, turning down the hall with Red in one direction as Sabrina, Bella, and Puck went the other.

When they entered the English classroom, Sabrina heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of Snow sitting behind the teacher's desk. At last, a teacher she liked!

"Hello, you three!" Snow said cheerfully.

"Hi, Snow." Sabrina said. "Can we sit anywhere?"

"Sure." She grinned. "But you'll have to stay there, so I suggest sitting together."

The three took seats to the left side of the room. Sabrina marveled at the fact that no other students seemed to be there yet, but decided to take advantage of the moment.

"Snow?" She asked. "Why are there so many classrooms where there are less than ten teachers?"

"Because I'm hoping we'll get a lot more teachers soon." Snow said. "A lot of adults said they'd come next marking period for the Teacher Certification or to catch up on what they don't know since schooling wasn't what it is when they were kids."

"Like night school." Bella said.

"Exactly." Snow said, smiling, as a few other students walked in. "Hello! Take a seat, but choose carefully, you're stuck there at least until next marking period!"

Once the bells rang signifying the start of class, and Snow had waited a little more time to make sure that there were no stragglers, she got up and walked around, carrying a stack of papers, leaving a second one on her desk. She asked each student their name, then ruffled through the stack until she found the correct paper, working her way around the room until she had finished the stack. Then she simply passed out stacks of papers, having each student pass them back to the kid(s) behind them until they were all gone.

"What you have in front of you," Snow said afterwards, "Is the equivalent of your course syllabus. I have a copy, too, but it will effect your grade if you lose it and have to ask me for a copy. The first paper is the list of what you need to read. Each of you have an individualized copy of that. Mark off what you've read once you finish it- next year's syllabus will consist of what you didn't read this year."

Sabrina looked at her paper. It was double-sided, with very small print. Of course, it was all the required reading she would need to complete through twelfth grade.

"The other sheet is a list of projects you need to do. If it has a number next to it, it implies that you must complete that number of projects of that type." Snow continued. "I expect at least half of them to be group projects, though the group size may vary between two and six. _Not_ all with the same people, mind you."

There was a collective groan from the class.

Snow ignored the groan and continued, "Now, I know compared to some of your other classes, this will seem unimportant, but the sooner we get through the very minimum of required state reading, we can get on to the more important work that will actually affect you- a study of fairy tales. I suggest you look through your list and pick out a book to begin with."

Sabrina, Bella, and Puck spent the rest of their class time doing exactly that, finding books none of them had read to start out with, to get at least one of the group projects out of the way. When the bell rang, Bella headed in one direction while Sabrina and Puck went another. They made their way to history, which was taught by ex-principal Hamiln.

"Have a seat." Hamlin told them, gesturing at the desks. "I really don't care where, as long as you pay attention."

Sabrina and Puck complied, sitting near Wendell, who was in the back of the room, looking nervous. Renee had joined them by the time class started.

After Hamlin called roll, he sat down on the edge of his desk and looked at them all. "Be good, please. I have to deal with children who look and act as if they were kindergartners right before you, and I could use a break."

The class quiteded, much to Sabrina's surprise.

"Thank you." Hamlin said. "Would one of you be so kind as to go to those books and begin handing them out?" He nodded to a pile of history books and looked at the class expectantly.

Sabrina looked at the unresponsive students and sighed. Hamlin deserved a break. She raised her hand, and Puck gave her an ironic pat on the back as Renee shot her a glare.

"Thank you." Hamelin smiled at her as she began handing out the books. "Kids, I'm not going to make you tell me the number of your book or anything. Just- don't lose it. And bring it back either at the end of the year or once we finish it. We're going to work out way through this book from beginning to end, and that will be all the history you need to graduate. I need another volunteer."

This time, Renee's hand shot up in the air immediately. Sabrina rolled her eyes, still handing out books.

"Thank you." Hamlin handed Renee a stack of papers. "This is rather like your entrance exams, only for history only. Answer what you know, and what everyone knows, we won't cover. After we finish this, we have to do an economics segment, a world history section, and we need to cover government. Once we do all that, we will study the history of everafters. As there is a war coming very soon, we will move very fast. That is why I'm giving you this test. I'm counting on you to answer as many questions as you can so that we can skip things like the revolutionary war and whatnot, because at the moment, we are only covering this because Miss White felt it necessary to employ that Smirt woman, who insists we cover this sort of thing first. I apologize, I'd rather educate you on things you may actually care about at some point in your life. We will cover a section each day, you will have homework each night, and we will do all the work the book assigns. It will be due the next day, and if you do not finish it, I will deduct a point for each day late. If I do not receive it before the end of the marking period, it will be counted as a zero. I will be conducting this class based largely on the honor system, please don't disappoint me. Bring your books to class each day. Now, I suggest you begin answering questions."

They did so, surprisingly. Sabrina noted the fact that people respond as well if not better to responsibility than they do if they are being ordered to do something. When the bell rang and they headed for lunch, more slowly than before because of their history books.

"We have to cart these to and from class every day?" Renee whined on the way to the lunch room.

Sabrina shrugged. "Maybe Snow has lockers that she just forgot to tell us about."

"Daph, you are _never_ getting flown to school." Puck said, sitting next to her at the table. "Not if I have to carry this book, too."

Daphne didn't even look up from her food. "Stop beign a baby. It's only a history book, it can't be that heavy."

"But we might be getting three more." Sabrina said. "Science and math both have textbooks, too. Wendell! Sit with us!"

Wendell came over and sat down nervously. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Perfectly." Sabrina said, standing back up. "Hold my seat, will you? I'm going to go get some food."

She stood up quickly and headed over to Momma, who was, as promised, serving lunch. She cut through the line, and walked right up to her, saying. "I brought the list. You want to talk it over now, or..."

"Now is good." Momma said. "I'm due for a break, anyway."

They entered the staff room, and Sabrina handed Momma the list. She spent several minutes studying it before speaking.

"This is a lot of pros." Momma said.

"That's the problem." Sabrina said.

"He's a good kid." Momma said mildly.

Sabrina sighed. "Fine you win. Daphne wins. Everyone who ever thought we were together wins. I like Puck, okay?"

"You gonna tell him?" Momma asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "_No._ Not in a million years."

Momma smiled dryly. "Well, you _are_ only twelve. Things change. Now, go back to lunch before all the food is gone."

Momma snuck back into the lunchroom, grabbed Sabrina food in exchange for $2.50, and Sabrina returned to the table, greeting Bella and Mustardseed, who had arrived while she was out. She thanked Renee silently for taking the seat next to Puck. She wasn't ready to deal with that.

"What took you so long?" Daphne whined.

"Talked to Momma." Sabrina said.

Puck looked up, surprised. "I didn't see her."

Sabrina shrugged, not looking at him. "She was there." She immediately set upon her food, not saying another word until they got to their next class.


	37. The First Day

********

**AN~ Happy belated birthday, Spotsgalfrom1899! Sorry I didn't get this up in time!**

Another note: I don't really know if this is Sabrina's birthday, I just sort of guessed.

* * *

In their next class, French, the Frong Prince was the teacher. Sabrina looked at Bella and winced sympathetically. "I forgot he was a teacher."

"So did I." Bella said dryly. "But I'll survive. If I'm lucky, he'll get in a snit and ignore me."

"He does that?" Sabrina asked.

"He was my third grade teacher." Bella said. "He ignored Toby the whole second half of the year."

"Wow." Puck said dryly. "Even I think that's immature."

Normally Sabrina would have laughed, but this time she just looked anywhere but at Puck and waited for Mr. Amphibian to assign them seats. This whole crush thing was shaping up to be very embarrassing. Fortunately, Renee was in the class also, and she was seated between Sabrina and Puck, giving her an excuse not to talk with him.

"Welcome to French I." Mr. Amphibian said. "We will be moving through this class at an average pace, as opposed to many f your other classes. However, you will most likely not need as many years as you normally would, because we will pick up right where we left off next year. Also, this is a high school level class, with an extended review period for those of you who may have studied a previous language in another school, or no language at all, as the case may be."

Sabrina, who had taken Spanish in New York City, was grateful for that. She tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, versus the proximity of Puck and Renee's chairs.

"We will begin tomorrow with pronunciation. There will be no textbooks in this class, but there will be an extraordinary amount of handouts, so make sure to bring a large three-ring binder tomorrow." Mr. Amphibian said.

He began on a list of class rules, then, but Sabrina tuned him out, trying very hard to retain an urge to kick Renee. What was WITH her? She hadn't been this weird before!

Finally, the bell rang, and Sabrina picked up her things and headed out, following Puck and Renee.

"What class do you have next?" Renee was saying."

"Study hall." Puck said.

"Me, too!" Renee said cheerfully. The two walked ahead of Sabrina, who lagged behind, fuming.

"You look cheerful." Bella said dryly."

"Shaddup." Sabrina glared at her.

"Renee getting a little too clingy for you?" Bella asked. "It's disgusting. I mean, they aren't even DATING!"

"He doesn't LIKE her." Sabrina said. "He TOLD her so yesterday!"

"Maybe she's hopeful." Bella said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, pushing open the library door. "That's delusional, not hopeful."

They entered the library and Sabrina stopped. "What happened here?"

The Scarecrow, wobbling past at the moment, stopped, too. "I didn't want the books destroyed." He said cheerfully. "So Snow and I made an agreement. We moved all the books in here."

"Wow." Bella grinned. "That's pretty awesome."

Sabrina nodded, going to sit by Puck and Renee at one of the library's tables.

"I told you already, give it UP, Renee!" Puck was saying. "I'm never going to go out with you, because you're nothing more than a friend and never will be!"

"But, Puck-" Renee started to say, but was cut off.

"What do I have to do to get it through your head? I don't like you!" Puck snapped. Sabrina held in a smile as Puck got up, saying, "I'm going somewhere else before these books give me hives."

"This is YOUR fault!" Renee hissed at Sabrina.

Sabrina stared at her. "MY fault? Look, just because he doesn't like you doesn't mean he automatically likes me!" Not that she would mind...

"If it weren't for you, he would have stayed in the city!" Renee shrieked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Don't hate me because he doesn't like you. He didn't before, and he doesn't now. He came back to get away from the responsibility. You're messing with reality to suit your whims. It's NOT cool."

"I am NOT!" Renee said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are. And if you'd just calm down and look at things, you'd see that things aren't nearly as bad as you think they are. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, and some of them may just be waiting for you to get your head out of the clouds and away from Puck."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renee asked.

"Get over him." Sabrina said. "Easier said than done, I know, but there are other guys, and I've seen the way some of them look at you. You're a pretty girl, Renee, you can do better than an immature fairy prince."

Renee stopped and looked at her. "Like who?"

"Not telling." Sabrina said mildly.

"Tell me!" Renee said.

"No." Sabrina said. "Once you're over Puck, maybe."

"That'll take AGES." Renee said.

Sabrina smiled. "Ah, well. Now you have a goal. 'Course, you could always try and figure it out yourself."

The rest of the period, during which Puck didn't appear at all, Renee tried different ways to convince Sabrina to spill, to no avail. They headed off in separate directions with Renee still shouting names at Sabrina.

Bella chuckled. "That went well."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I was getting tired of the whole you-took-my-love theme, so I decided to nip it in the bud."

"It worked." Bella said. "Where are we headed now?"

"Different spots, I think." Sabrina said. "You already had science, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Bella said. "See you later!"

Sabrina headed off to Science on her own. She waited through the seating assignments, then took her seat quietly. This was the first class she hadn't known anyone in, and she was NERVOUS. It didn't help that Mr. Sheepshanks was the science teacher and he knew exactly what she was feeling and would probably do his best to turn those feelings up to the maximum.

"Hi."

She turned to look at the speaker, a redheaded boy around her age with mischievous eyes and a crooked, gap-toothed smile.

"Hi." She said warily. "Who are you?"

"Peter pan." The boy grinned at the expression on her face. "I'm assuming you're Sabrina Grimm, then?"

"How'd you guess?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, partly the fact that I heard from Robin what you look like, but mostly that people who give me that look have usually spent a lot of time around Puck, and I know you live with him." Peter said

Sabrina smiled at him, feeling calmer already. She thought she would like this kid. "He is very vehement about that. I think he got confused for you one time too many. You should have seen him the time my dad asked if he was you. He blew the roof off our car."

"Seriously?" Peter asked.

He was about to continue when Mr. Sheepshanks spoke up.

"Listen up, kiddos!" He said. "We've got a big year ahead of us, and lots to learn. We'll go at a normal pace, since there's nothing magical I can teach under a science heading. You know all the basics by now, of course, but let's go over the class rules once again, shall we?"

Sabrina and Peter both tuned him out around then, and set about whispering quietly through the class. On her way to math, Sabrina decided that while Peter was fun, he was even more immature than Puck, and nowhere near as cool. And too fickle.

"Hello!" Miss Muffet said as Sabrina entered the room. "Please write your birthday on this sheet of paper! We'll be making the seating chart in order of when you were born, not by name!"

"When's your birthday?" Bella asked Sabrina.

"March twenty-ninth." Sabrina whispered back. "You?"

"January seventh." Bella replied. "I doubt we'll be sitting together."

As it turned out, they were about five seats apart. Then there was a hug gap in birthdays, nothing between Sabrina's at the end of March, and Alice- of Wonderland- on May fourth.

"Hi." Sabrina whispered to Alice as Mrs. Arachnid began explaining how the math class would proceed- at an ordinary pace-, how they were NOT to call her miss Muffet under any circumstances, and the class rules, all things Sabrina already knew.

"Hi." Alice whispered back.

"You're a little young physically for this class, aren't you?" Sabrina asked. Alice looked about ten, at the most.

Alice nodded. "But Charles Dogson- you know him as Lewis Carroll- he was a math teacher, and he taught me quite a bit. I didn't feel like relearning that information, despite the fact that Snow thought it would be better for me to be with people more like my age."

"Well, there's less than ten people in this school that are their actual age in this entire town, so it doesn't really matter anyway." Sabrina said. "And there's only one teacher who doesn't know about everafters."

"That's what I said." Alice replied with a smile. "Snow decided to put me in normal classes the rest of the time and I'd be ahead here."

The two girls talked for the rest of the class, albeit quietly, and at the end of the day Sabrina filed her way out to the bus, sitting down purposely next to Bella instead of Puck, though there was an open seat.

"Now what did I do?" Puck complained.

"Nothing, at least that I know of." Sabrina said, still not looking at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't even looked at me, let alone said anything, since lunch! What's going on?"

"Not a thing." Sabrina said. "I'm just tired. Relax." That was said as much to her heart as to Puck. She decided to change the subject. "So, does anyone know how the buses are divided up? It looks like it's mostly like, native towners on this bus, New Yorkers on another one, and everyone else on the last one, but Mustardseed is on this bus, so that ruins that."

"I believe that is how it is arranged." Mustardseed said. "But I am on the edge of the citygoers camp, so I was probably included in the least populated bus."

"True, there aren't as many kids from here as from other places." Sabrina said. "Most of the people here decided to grow up, at least a little."

"Puck not included." Bella said.

"Well, it's probably easier to fit in with humans if you at least PRETEND you are one." Daphne said. "That's hard to do if you're a kid forever, and here, you can't really hide or get out."

"True." Bella said.

"We should make a study group." Mustardseed said. " noticed that many of the classes require group work, and we all have different strengths which we could use to help each other. I suggest we all meet during study hall and actually work, as much as it may seem a ree period to the rest of you."

"Like a book club or something!" Daphne said. "We could read out loud and get done with the books Snow wants us to read, and help each other with homework and..."

"I think we should meet more than during school." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "At least once a week outside of school, maybe on Saturday night or something, at our house, or the Golden Egg or something."

"Every day would actually work better." Bella said. "That way if someone can't make it one day, they don't miss too much. And we could invite other people, ones we can trust."

"Like Wendell?" Red asked.

Sabrina blinked at her. Was she actually teasing?

Bella blushed. "Well, yes. And Renee, and those friends of Puck's, Art and Jonas. weren't they?"

"And Alice- the Wonderland one." Sabrina said. "Maybe- and don't kill me Puck, but maybe Peter Pan and his crowd, too. He's in my science class."

Puck didn't kill her, but he did give her-and everyone else- a death glare that stopped the conversation cold.

Bella finally broke the silence. "So... how was everyone's day?"

"Amazing!" Daphne said. "I met SO many everafters and my classes all are going to be amazing, and-"

Before she could start rambling, Sabrina cut her off. "How about you, Red?"

"It was... interesting." Red said. "Very loud. But fun, I guess, What about the rest of you?"

"It's all right, as far as schools go." Puck said. "But my last two classes were boring. Educational, but boring."

"Mine was not exceptionally illuminating, but the year is shaping up to be informative." Mustardseed said.

"I had fun." Sabrina said. "This actually might be the first school year I actually enjoy. Like, ever. How 'bout you, Bella?"

Bella gushed about the day with Daphne for the rest of the ride home, and then, when they arrived inside, the two did the same thing again for the adults. Sabrina, Puck, and Red all disappeared as soon as possible to let the other two do the talking for them while they went up to work together on their tests for the next day.

The rest of the marking period passed in a blur to Sabrina. She studied almost nonstop, meeting with the study group daily and working on whatever homework had been assigned, as well as doing group projects and getting help in subjects she wasn't good in. She even helped some of the lost boys- who had joined the group, despite Puck's protests- with their English work. She was determined to get the bare minimum of her work done in science, math, and Friench, and to work as fast as possible on the subjects that mattered.

When she wasn't working on her school assignments, which was rare, she was either doing chores, sleeping, or with Baba Yaga, experimenting with her abilities, mainly control. Baba Yaga insisted that she learn how to make her magic NOT do anything before she even atempted to make it do anything else.

"This way," She'd said, "You won't burn someone's hair off whenever you're angry, or cause earthquakes, or anything else that would give away your secret."

Sabrina had complied, and the house had quieted down somewhat, because Sabrina's work ethic had caught on, and everyone was exhausted from their schoolwork. trying to get as much done as they could in time for the impending war.

Snow called the adults in about it one day.

"Thank you for coming." She told the study group's parents as they entered the room. "I wanted to discuss your children's grades with you."

"They've been studying 24/7." Veronica said. "Surely they can't be so bad that you needed a parent teacher conference wtih ALL of us."

She gestured to the room, where Relda, Jacob, Henry, the Hamelins, Titania, and Wendy sat.

"I expected bad grades from Puck," Titania said, "But you said my CHILDREN, Snow. Peaseblossom and Mustardseed have always been excellent students, and they have already learned most of this. It has been a while since htey attended an establishment such as this, but-"

"There is no problem with your children's grades." Snow said calmly. "That's not the reason I called you here."

"What is it, then?" Mrs. Hamlin, an unremarkable woman who was supposedly from the town of the famous story, asked quietly.

"They ARE low, I admit, but the PROGRESS is what astounds me." Snow said, handing out sheets of grades. "The older ones have gotten through about half of their U.S. history book already, having skipped most of the revolutionary war and other segments. That's a high-school grade textbook. Hamlin, of course, you knew that already. This is only the end of the first marking period. They are shaping up to be done with that before year's end, and if they continue at this rate, well into world history before the end of next year."

"Before we are halfway through with the year, if I give them their books in the spring and they study over the sumer." Hamelin cut in. "However likely that is. I believe we are scheduled for skirmished over the summer."

"They are also well ahead in gym class- or health at the moment." Snow said. "They don't get very high grades, C's for the most part, and some B's and D's, almost no A's, same as history, but they are most of the way through the health book. The Beast reports that they take very good notes and will most likely not need even a full marking period of the subject next year, if they keep their notes and reread them next year. Their math, science, and French grades are low, and move at a normal speed. I have asked the teachers to go light on the work, as they have more important things to cover. It is their English grades that most surprise me."

She handed out more sheets and the adults gaped.


	38. A Blur of a Marking Period

**********AN~ Happy belated birthday, Spotsgalfrom1899! Sorry I didn't get this up in time!**

******Also: I don't really know if this is Sabrina's birthday, I just sort of guessed.**

* * *

In Sabrina's next class, French, the Frong Prince was the teacher. Sabrina looked at Bella and winced sympathetically. "I forgot he was a teacher."

"So did I." Bella said dryly. "But I'll survive. If I'm lucky, he'll get in a snit and ignore me."

"He does that?" Sabrina asked.

"He was my third grade teacher." Bella said. "He ignored Toby the whole second half of the year."

"Wow." Puck said dryly. "Even I think that's immature."

Normally Sabrina would have laughed, but today she just looked anywhere but at Puck.. This whole crush thing was shaping up to be very embarrassing. Fortunately, Renee was in the class too, and she was seated between Sabrina and Puck, which gave her an excuse not to talk with him.

"Welcome to French I." Mr. Amphibian said, standing to get the class's attention. "We will be moving through this class at an average pace, as opposed to many of your other classes. However, you will most likely not need as many years as you normally would, because we will pick up right where we left off next year. Also, this is a high school level class, with an extended review period for those of you who may have studied a previous language in another school, or no language at all, as the case may be."

Sabrina, who had taken Spanish in New York City, was grateful for that. She tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, versus the proximity of Puck and Renee's chairs.

"We will begin tomorrow with pronunciation. There will be no textbooks in this class, but there will be an extraordinary amount of handouts, so make sure to bring a large three-ring binder tomorrow." Mr. Amphibian said.

He started on a list of class rules, but Sabrina tuned him out, trying very hard to ignore an urge to kick Renee. What was _with_ her? She hadn't been this weird before!

Finally, the bell rang, and Sabrina picked up her things and headed out, following Puck and Renee.

"What class do you have next?" Renee was saying.

"Study hall." Puck said.

"Me, too!" Renee said cheerfully. The two walked ahead of Sabrina, who lagged behind, fuming.

"You look cheerful." Bella said dryly.

"Shaddup." Sabrina glared at her.

"Renee getting a little too clingy for you?" Bella asked. "It's disgusting. I mean, they aren't even _dating_!"

"He doesn't _like_ her." Sabrina said. "He told her so yesterday!"

"Maybe she's hopeful." Bella said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, pushing open the library door. "That's delusional, not hopeful."

They entered the library and Sabrina stopped. "What happened here?"

The Scarecrow, wobbling past at the moment, stopped, too. "I didn't want the town library destroyed." He said cheerfully. "So Snow and I made an agreement. We moved all the books in here."

"Wow." Bella grinned. "That's pretty awesome."

Sabrina nodded, going to sit by Puck and Renee at one of the library's tables.

"I told you already, give it _up_, Renee!" Puck was saying. "I'm never going to go out with you, because you're nothing more than a friend and never will be!"

"But, Puck-" Renee started to say, but was cut off.

"What do I have to do to get it through your head? I don't like you!" Puck snapped. Sabrina held in a smile as Puck got up, saying, "I'm going somewhere else before these books give me hives."

"This is _your_ fault!" Renee hissed at Sabrina as she sat down.

Sabrina stared at her. "_My _fault? Look, just because he doesn't like you doesn't mean he automatically likes me!" Not that she would mind...

"If it weren't for you, he would have stayed in the city!" Renee shrieked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Don't hate me because he doesn't like you. He didn't before, and he doesn't now. He came back to get away from the responsibility. You're messing with reality to suit your whims."

"I am not!" Renee protested.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are. And if you'd just calm down and look at things, you'd see that things aren't nearly as bad as you think they are. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, and some of them may just be waiting for you to get your head out of the clouds and away from Puck."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renee asked.

"Get over him." Sabrina said. "Easier said than done, I know, but there are other guys, and I've seen the way some of them look at you. You're a pretty girl, Renee, you can do better than an immature fairy prince."

Renee stopped and looked at her. "Like who?"

"Not telling." Sabrina said mildly.

"Tell me!" Renee said.

"No." Sabrina said. "Once you're over Puck, maybe."

"That'll take _ages_." Renee said.

Sabrina smiled. "Ah, well. Now you have a goal. 'Course, you could always try and figure it out yourself."

The rest of the period, during which Puck didn't appear at all, Renee tried different ways to convince Sabrina to spill, to no avail. They headed off in separate directions with Renee still shouting guesses at Sabrina.

Bella chuckled. "That went well."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I was getting tired of the whole you-stole-my-man theme, so I decided to nip it in the bud."

"It worked." Bella said. "Where are we headed now?"

"Different spots, I think." Sabrina said. "You already had science, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Bella said. "See you later!"

Sabrina headed off to Science on her own. She waited through the seating assignments, then took her seat quietly. This was the first class she hadn't known anyone in, and she was _nervous_. It didn't help that Mr. Sheepshank was the science teacher and he knew exactly what she was feeling and would probably do his best to turn those feelings up to the maximum.

"Hi."

She turned to look at the speaker, a redheaded boy around her age with mischievous eyes and a crooked, gap-toothed smile.

"Hi." She said warily. "Who are you?"

"Peter Pan." The boy grinned at the expression on her face. "I'm assuming you're Sabrina Grimm, then?"

"How'd you guess?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, partly the fact that I heard from Robin what you look like, but mostly that people who give me that look have usually spent a lot of time around Puck, and I know you live with him." Peter said

Sabrina smiled at him, feeling calmer already. She thought she would like this kid. "He_ is_ very annoying about that. I think he got confused for you one time too many. You should have seen him the time my dad asked if he was you. He blew the roof off our car."

"Seriously?" Peter asked.

He was about to continue when Mr. Sheepshank spoke up.

"Listen up, kiddos!" He said. "We've got a big year ahead of us, and lots to learn. We'll go at a normal pace, since there's nothing magical I can teach under a science heading. You know all the basics by now, of course, but let's go over the class rules once again, shall we?"

Sabrina and Peter both tuned him out around then, and set about whispering quietly through the class. On her way to math, Sabrina decided that while Peter was fun, he was even more immature than Puck, and nowhere near as cool. And too fickle.

"Hello!" Miss Muffet said as Sabrina entered the room. "Please write your birthday on this sheet of paper! We'll be making the seating chart in order of when you were born, not by name!"

"When's your birthday?" Bella asked Sabrina.

"March twenty-ninth." Sabrina whispered back. "You?"

"January seventh." Bella replied. "I doubt we'll be sitting together."

As it turned out, they were about five seats apart. Then there was a hug gap in birthdays, nothing between Sabrina's at the end of March, and Alice- of Wonderland- on May fourth.

"Hi." Sabrina whispered to Alice as Mrs. Arachnid began explaining how the math class would proceed- at an ordinary pace-, how they were _not _to call her Miss Muffet under any circumstances, and the class rules, all things Sabrina already knew.

"Hi." Alice whispered back.

"You're a little young physically for this class, aren't you?" Sabrina asked. Alice looked about ten, at the most.

Alice nodded. "But Charles Dogson- you know him as Lewis Carroll- he was a math teacher, and he taught me quite a bit. I didn't feel like relearning that information, even though Snow thought it would be better for me to be with people more like my age."

"Well, there's less than ten people in this school that are their actual age in this entire town, so it doesn't really matter anyway." Sabrina said. "And there's only one teacher who doesn't know about everafters."

"That's what I said." Alice replied with a smile. "Snow decided to put me in normal classes the rest of the time and I'd be ahead here."

The two girls talked for the rest of the class, albeit quietly, and at the end of the day Sabrina filed her way out to the bus, sitting down purposely next to Bella instead of Puck, even though there was an open seat.

"Now what did I do?" Puck complained.

"Nothing, at least that I know of." Sabrina said, still not looking at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't even looked at me, let alone said anything, since lunch! What's going on?"

"Nothing." Sabrina said. "I'm just tired. Relax." That was said as much to her thumping heart as to Puck. She decided to change the subject. "So, does anyone know how the buses are divided up? It looks like it's mostly like, native towners on this bus, New Yorkers on another one, and everyone else on the last one, but Mustardseed is on this bus, so that ruins that."

"I believe that is how it is arranged." Mustardseed said. "But I am on the edge of the citygoers camp, so I was probably included in the least populated bus."

"True, there aren't as many kids from here as from other places." Sabrina said. "Most of the people here decided to grow up, at least a little."

"Puck not included." Bella said.

"Well, it's probably easier to fit in with humans if you at least _pretend_ to be one." Daphne said. "That's hard to do if you're a kid forever, and here, you can't really hide or get out."

"True." Bella said.

"We should make a study group." Mustardseed said. "I noticed that many of the classes require group work, and we all have different strengths which we could use to help each other. I suggest we all meet during study hall and actually work, as much as it may seem a free period to the rest of you."

"Like a book club or something!" Daphne said. "We could read out loud and get done with the books Snow wants us to read, and help each other with homework, and..."

"I think we should meet more than during school." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "At least once a week outside of school, maybe on Saturday night or something, at our house, or the Golden Egg or something."

"Every day would actually work better." Bella said. "That way if someone can't make it one day, they don't miss too much. And we could invite other people, ones we can trust."

"Like Wendell?" Red asked.

Sabrina blinked at her. Was she actually teasing?

Bella blushed. "Well, yeah. And Renee, and those friends of Puck's, Art and Jonas, weren't they?"

"And Alice- the Wonderland one." Sabrina said. "Maybe- and don't kill me Puck, but maybe Peter Pan and his crowd, too. He's in my science class."

Puck didn't kill her, but he did give her- and everyone else- a death glare that stopped the conversation cold.

Bella finally broke the silence. "So... how was everyone's day?"

"Amazing!" Daphne said. "I met _so_ many everafters and my classes all are going to be amazing, and-"

Before she could start rambling, Sabrina cut her off. "How about you, Red?"

"It was... interesting." Red said. "Very loud. But fun, I guess. What about the rest of you?"

"It's all right, as far as schools go." Puck said. "But my last two classes were boring. Educational, but boring."

"Mine was not exceptionally illuminating, but the year is shaping up to be informative." Mustardseed said.

"I had fun." Sabrina said. "This actually might be the first school year I actually enjoy. Like, ever. How 'bout you, Bella?"

Bella gushed about the day with Daphne for the rest of the ride home, and then, when they arrived inside, the two repeated themselves for the adults. Sabrina, Puck, and Red all disappeared as soon as possible to let the other two do the talking for them while they went up to work together on their tests for the next day.

The rest of the marking period passed in a blur to Sabrina. She studied almost nonstop, meeting with the study group daily and working on whatever homework had been assigned, as well as doing group projects and getting help in subjects she wasn't good in. She even helped some of the lost boys- who had joined the group, despite Puck's protests- with their English work. She was determined to get the bare minimum of her work done in science, math, and French, and to work as fast as possible on the subjects that mattered.

When she wasn't working on her school assignments, which was rare, she was either doing chores, sleeping, or with Baba Yaga, experimenting with her abilities, mainly control. Baba Yaga insisted that she learn how to make her magic _not_ do anything before she even atempted to make it do anything else.

"This way," She'd said, "you won't burn someone's hair off whenever you're angry, or cause earthquakes, or anything else that would give away your secret."

Sabrina had complied, and the house had quieted down somewhat, because Sabrina's work ethic had caught on, and everyone was exhausted from their schoolwork. trying to get as much done as they could in time for the impending war.

Snow called the adults in about it one day.

"Thank you for coming." She told the study group's parents as they entered the room. "I wanted to discuss your children's grades with you."

"They've been studying 24/7." Veronica said. "Surely they can't be so bad that you needed a parent teacher conference wtih _all_ of us."

She gestured to the room, where Relda, Jacob, Henry, the Hamelins, Titania, and Wendy sat.

"I expected bad grades from Puck," Titania said, "But you said my _children_, Snow. Peaseblossom and Mustardseed have always been excellent students, and they have already learned most of this. It has been a while since they attended an establishment such as this, but-"

"There's no problem with your children's grades." Snow said calmly. "That's not the reason I called you here."

"What is it, then?" Mrs. Hamlin, an unremarkable woman who was supposedly from the town of the famous story, asked quietly.

"They _are_ low, I admit, but the _progress_ is what astounds me." Snow said, handing out sheets of grades. "The older ones have gotten through about half of their U.S. history book already. That's a high-school grade textbook. Hamlin, of course, you knew that already. This is only the end of the first marking period. They're shaping up to be done with that before year's end, and if they continue at this rate, well into world history before the end of next year."

"Before we are halfway through with the year, if I give them their books in the spring and they study over the sumer." Hamelin cut in. "However likely that is. I believe we are scheduled for skirmished over the summer."

"They're also well ahead in gym class- or health at the moment." Snow said. "They don't get very high grades, C's for the most part, and some B's and D's, almost no A's, same as history, but they're most of the way through the health book. The Beast reports that they take very good notes and will most likely not need even a full marking period of the subject next year, if they keep their notes and reread them next year. Their math, science, and French grades are low, and move at a normal speed. I've asked the teachers to go light on the work, as they have more important things to cover. It's their English grades that most surprise me."

She handed out more sheets and the adults gaped.


	39. Thanksgiving

**********AN~ HOLY FAIL! I realized while editing that I completely cut out a chapter and don't know where it went! So I'll just tell you what happens 'cause I can't (AKA am too lazy to and can't remember how it went) rewrite it. The English grades were amazing. Blah. And then we cut to Sabrina getting tortured by Smirt 'cause the marking Period is almost over and she has to teach the class for a day, and then goes to teach English class.**

******_Grimm Grinn_: I don't normally reply to anonymous reviews, but yours was just too awesome NOT to reply to. THIS is the kind of review EVERYONE'S should be based off of! Thank you. Now, on to your points:**

******Point number one: Yes, it has sort of dropped off. In the next chapter, Sabrina will have to come out of the closet on being an everafter, after which it will become more of a focal point in the story. Also, while it is why this became a story, it is not THE main point, though you're right, I'd kind of forgotten about it. My bad.**

******Point two: I plan on it. I love Red myself.**

******Point three: Thank you so much! I'm glad you think this is worth reading, although I doubt I have legions of screaming fans. :)**

* * *

Teaching English class was actually much easier than she'd expected. There were very few questions asked, and she had either known the answers or been able to ask Snow. She had Snow fill out the form on the way out of class.

"Are you going to give it to her today?" Snow asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "I thought tomorrow morning-"

"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, Sabrina." Snow said. "I doubt you want to find Smirt here when you could sleep in for once."

"It is?" Sabrina blinked at Snow. "I guess I'll give it back to her at lunch, then." She said, and headed for her history class.

She sat through the study of Texas's statehood absently, not quite paying attention. Thankgiving already? It hadn't seemed like it could be that late. But then again, they _had_ gotten through a lot of work in most of her classes. And the Beast had given them a test the other day, and a packet-

She rummaged through her backpack, finding the packet. It was a quiz on the rules of various sports, which raised another question: How had she not seen this coming?

"What's got you so worked up?" Puck asked, once class was over.

"It's Thanksgiving tomorrow." Sabrina replied, getting up and heading for the door.

"Yeah, and...?" Bella said, holding the door for the other two.

"Thanks." Sabrina said, passing her. "Nothing, really. I just didn't think it was that late in the year. You realize that next week Daphne and I'll have been living here for a year?"

"That's awesome!" Bella said. "We should throw an anniversary party or something!"

"With what time?" Sabrina asked, heading for the lunch line. "I'm not even really planning on taking time off of schoolwork for Thanksgiving. When do you expect me to party?"

"Grimm, you need to lighten up." Puck said. "You work too much, you're gonna kill yourself if you don't take some down time."

"I'm fine." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Right." Puck said. "Which is why you collapsed last night right after dinner without even getting up from the table, why you have huge dark circles under your eyes, why even though you eat a lot you're still rail thin, why you're awfully pale-"

"Oh, shut up." Sabrina glared at Puck.

"He's right, Sabrina." Daphne said. "You're working yourself to the bone. You look sick."

"I'm _fine_." Sabrina half-shouted. "And getting as much of this schoolwork done as fast as possible is more important than being healthy."

"If you get sick, you'll miss a lot of school." Red pointed out.

Sabrina gave the whole table a death glare without saying anything, and fell upon her food with a single-minded intensity that mimicked Puck and Daphne.

The rest of the day passed by relatively uneventfully, until they got home and headed off to begin their homework.

"Hold it!" Granny called.

The kids all stopped. You didn't mess with Granny when she shouted that way.

"There will be no schoolwork in this house this weekend." Granny said firmly. "None at all. And don't give me that look, Sabrina. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, so we'll be getting ready for that- Charming, Snow, and Mr. Canis will all be visiting- and Sunday is the anniversary of when Sabrina and Daphne moved in. We'll be having another party then, and I don't want _any_ homework done until _after _that party!"

"But-" Sabrina protested.

"No buts!" Granny said firmly. "You need to take a break."

"I have a whole test for gym, an English assignment, and history homework!" Sabrina said. "I can't do all that in one evening! Can I _please _work on homework tonight, and just take tomorrow off?"

"Fine." Granny said. "But I want you in bed by ten."

"I can live with that." Sabrina replied.

"Good." Granny said. "Now, I have some cookies for you in the kitchen, if you'd like to eat them while you work."

"Chocolate chip?" Daphne asked hopefully.

Granny nodded, and the kids ran for the kitchen. They worked together on their gym questionnaire, getting additional answers from what the adults knew, while eating the cookies. By four thirty, the cookies were gone, and they had finished as much of their gym homework as possible, though Sabrina planned to meet with the study group sometime and get help from them, and they were free to move on to other subjects. As the English assignment had no due date, they decided to complete History first. It took longer than usual, as they were at the end of a section, and there was a set of chapter review questions, so they didn't finish that until after dinner, when Sabrina and Puck began working on their English project.

They had almost finished the book when Sabrina realized the time and headed for the bathroom. She passed the sign that read:

'No one may use the bathroom for more than half an hour at a time, and no one may take more than one shower daily unless there is an emergency. No using showers before five in the morning, from six to seven, from eight to nine, or after ten. Puck must shower at least once a week. Thank you, Granny.'

and entered the bathroom to complete her evening routine, which she'd done for so long that she didn't even usually have to be fully awake, simply running on autopilot to get ready for bed. After preparing for bed, she considered going down to return to work, but decided against it. Too close to ten o' clock.

"Goodnight, everyone!" She called, heading for her bedroom.

"No more English homework, then?" Puck asked, sounding relieved.

Sabrina shook her head and pulled off her sweater, shaking her wings out. "That reminds me." She said, "You know that spell that lets your wings through you clothes?"

"Yeah..." Puck said blankly. "What about it?"

"I need it." Sabrina replied. "It's _really_ hard finding clothes that work around my wings, or that fit over them, or that I don't mind slicing to let them out. If it's some secret fairy thing, I'll understand, but..."

"No, no, it's fine." Puck said. "I just don't know if you could do it. I mean, you're magic, and a fairy and all, well, kind of, but you weren't _born_ a fairy, and I'm not sure you can do spells without a wand."

"But you know the spell, right?" Sabrina asked. "So _you _could do it, couldn't you?"

"Yeah sure." Puck said. "I'll need your clothes, and your wings."

"Let's go in my room, then." Sabrina said, heading for the stairs.

"_Not _with the door closed." Henry said in passing.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Dad, we're not going to do anything. We're not even _together_."

"Yeah, no thanks." Puck said, making a face.

Sabrina winced, glad that she was behind Puck and he couldn't see her expression. She followed him upstairs and, leaving the door pointedly open, turned to Puck.

"How do we do this?" She asked him.

"Get out the shirts and stuff you want me to spell, lay them out somewhere, and I'll get started."

Sabrina rolled her eyes at his commanding tone, but went to the dresser to get her shirts, putting them all on the bed. After they were situated, Puck pushed her into a sitting position on the floor with her wings spread out on the bed behind her.

Sabrina put up minimal fuss over the rough treatment, secretly glad that he was touching her, and tried to turn so that she could see what he was doing.

"Stop squirming." Puck muttered. "This is way easier on someone else. I don't have to turn around and mess with something that wants to stay _right _behind me this way. Thank you."

"Ummm... Sure." Sabrina said, still trying to see what he was doing.

Puck finally sighed in exasperation. "Would you _stop_? Every time you move your wings, I have to start over!"

Sabrina made a face. "But I'm bored!"

"Well, read a book or something!" Puck said. "Just stop trying to watch me!"

"How about I read our English book?" Sabrina suggested.

Puck made a face, but sighed. "Fine. I can listen and work at the same time. Stay." Pointing at her commandingly, he went to get the book.

He returned a few minutes later, tossed the book in her lap, and set about working while Sabrina read out loud, attempting to ignore the tingles she got every time he touched her wings, which was often. She continued to read until the book was finished, and then tried to sit still for a few more minutes while Puck finished.

"All right, you can move now." Puck said, stepping back. "Wait- never mind. I didn't do the shirt you're wearing."

Sabrina made a face. "Drat. I like these pajamas, too."

Puck said, blushing slightly, "Well, I could always spell them, too. But you might want to take them off first."

Sabrina turned red. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Puck stood there for a minute while Sabrina turned redder and redder.

"Well?" She finally asked.

"Well what?" Puck looked at her blankly.

"Are you leaving?" Sabrina demanded. "I'm not changing while you're in here."

"Oh." Puck turned equally red. "Right. I'll just... be going now. Call me once you're changed."

"I will." Sabrina told Puck's retreating back. She changed quickly into a big T-shirt that said Bermuda on it, blinking at the feel of her wings sliding through the cloth, then called, "Okay, you can come back in now!"

Puck entered the room, took the pajama shirt from Sabrina's hand, and said, "Stay still."

Sabrina stiffened, still standing, and waited while Puck did whatever it was that he did to her clothes, trying to keep from squirming as she was suddenly attacked by itches and other discomforts.

"Okay, now I'm done for real." Puck told her, handing back the shirt.

"Thanks." Sabrina took it back, and headed for her bed, gathering up her other clothes. "Goodnight again."

"Night." Puck responded, leaving the room.

Once he was gone, Sabrina shoved the clothes in the dresser and sat down on the bed with a sigh. Why couldn't she get him out of her head? She treasured every time they touched, every word he said to her, even the insults. How pathetic _was_ she? There were hundreds of other guys she could have a crush on, why him? Why not someone who, say, _didn't_ live with her?

Except... did she _want _to stop liking him? He was funny, and fun, he'd saved her...

When she realized what she'd been thinking, Sabrina immediately picked up a book and began reading. She was _not_ going down that train of thought again.

* * *

The next morning passed in a blur of cooking and cleaning, something Sabrina would normally save for Saturday, but was glad to have out of the way all the same. While she waited for Mr. Clay, Snow, and Charming to show up, she reacquainted herself with the idea of relaxing.

"You look perplexed." Daphne told her, sitting next to her on the couch.

"I think it's actually bemused." Sabrina replied, sliding her feet in. "Perplexed is like confused. Bemused just means I'm thinking."

"All right, bemused, then." Daphne said, settling down into the couch cushions. "Why are you bemused?"

"I kind of forgot what it was like to relax." Sabrina responded. "It's interesting. I'm having a hard time not planning out the English project Puck and I have to do. Or figuring out when to meet up with the rest of the study group to work more on the gym packet."

"You work too much." Daphne said lazily.

"So I've been told." Sabrina responded dryly. "If I take a nap will you change your mind?"

"I might." Daphne said, "If you watched a movie with me. Or played a game."

Before Sabrina could answer, the doorbell rang.

"That must be Snow." Sabrina said with relief. "I'll get it."

"Hi, Sabrina." Snow said when she answered the door.

She walked into the house, followed by Mr. Clay and Charming, the latter of whom gave her a stiff nod, while Mr. Clay smiled warmly, an expression Sabrina had never seen before. It was a nice smile, she decided, responding in kind as she followed the rest of the group to the kitchen.

"There you are." Granny said cheerfully. "I was wondering when you would show up! Hello!"

There were greetings all around, and then they headed for the dining room, which had been packed with all the leaves that would fit on the table, as well as a folding card table, and all the chairs from both the dining room and the kitchen, as well as one from the living room. They all crowded together around the food, sat down, and listened while Mr. Clay said grace. Sabrina wasn't sure how she felt about that. Did she believe in God anymore? Could God and magic exist together? She'd never been a big churchgoer before her parents disappeared, and now...

Still, she said 'amen' along with the rest of the table, and began serving herself, starting with the beans, which were directly in front of her, and passing them to Puck, who was on her left, to receive the turkey from Mr. Canis. She concentrated on eating for the first while, not taking part in, or even really paying attention to, the conversation around the table until Uncle Jake mentioned school, at which point she looked up, interested.

"What was that?" Sabrina asked him.

"I was just asking Snow how much more we would need to put in to go to her school next marking period." Jake said. "Now that all of you will be done with the teacher certification class, Ms. Smirt can start teaching us adults, and a little extra training never hurt."

"Many of the everafters I've spoken to are planning to sign up, also." Snow said. "They'd like to catch up on what they never learned, since when they were school-age, it wasn't such a big deal."

"I believe it would be a good idea for all of us to go." Granny said. "We can take the teacher certification and catch up on other classes this marking period, and maybe we could teach something for the last two. Snow, what would we have to do to all go?"

"Nothing." Snow said. "You all helped with the building process, and donated more than I had a right to expect. You're paid in full, at least until we need something else. Like a teacher."

"Not me." Sabrina said. "I've been in front of a class enough for a lifetime, thanks."

"That reminds me." Snow said. "You all need a replacement for teacher certification next parking period."

"What is there first period?" Sabrina asked.

"Hamlin has a World History class then." Snow said. "You'd be a marking period behind, though."

Puck shrugged. "We could make it up later, though, couldn't we?"

"And it would get it out of the way- or at least mostly- for our history class." Bella said. "Then we could be done with history that much sooner."

"Sounds good to me." Sabrina said.

"All right, then." Snow smiled. "What about you two?" She asked Daphne and Red.

"What can we take during eighth period?" Daphne asked.

"Do you have an art class?" Red asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not, sweetie." Snow said sadly. "I hope to have one next parking period, but until then... I could give you another English, another history, or another study hall. Nothing else would really be useful, and we don't have any fun electives yet."

"What do you think?" Daphne asked Red. "History or English?"

"History." Red said. "I don't like it very much, so it will be nice to get it out of the way."

"Daphne shrugged. "That works. I like history, though."

"All right then." Snow said. "I'll fix it up for you!"

"Pass the turkey?" Sabrina asked Puck.

Puck gave it to her, and she served herself, listening to Henry ask whether the adults would have to go for the full day. Snow replied that no, they woldn't, but it was recommended, and Granny changed the subject, asking Charming how the fort was coming along.

"Quite well, actually." Charming replied. "We've got quite a nice setup, with solid walls spelled to protect us from anything short of a nuclear bomb, a moat, and several sets of spikes. We have all the necessary buildings, and we're working on indoor plumbing and a heating and cooling system."

"Notice he didn't mention people at all." Mr. Clay muttered to Sabrina dryly.

"I was getting to that." Charming sent Mr. Clay an irritated glance.

"What's going on with them?" Veronica asked.

"Well, what people we have- which isn't many, yet-" Snow said, "Are just happy to be safe, and have absolutely no intention of joining any army whatsoever. Even the Merry Men just want to enjoy themselves. Everyone hears two years before fighting, and they all think, 'no need to worry about it now,' not 'two years to prepare!' Except the kids. Everyone at the school is full of purpose, trying wonderfully hard to get ready. I'm proud of them."

"I'm disappointed in the adults." Mr. Clay said. "We've barely even got a passive defense system, and we have no active defense or attack system at all."

"Well, that's cheerful." Veronica said. "Let's talk about something happy, please? It's Thanksgiving, after all."

The conversation moved on to other things, and they spent a happy afternoon first talking and eating, then watching a football game, before Mr. Clay, Charming, and Snow went home, promising to be back Sunday for the party celebrating the first anniversary of Sabrina and Daphne living with Granny.

Sabrina slept most of the weekend, playing games and watching movies with Daphne and Red during the rest of the time. Red tried get Sabrina to draw with her, but after Sabrina protested for half an hour that she couldn't draw, then gave in and just drew a picture to prove it, Red gave up and decided to find someone else to draw with. Sabrina also caught up some on her work with the family journals, though she had yet to find out what exactly the Sword was, and hung out with Puck and Bella, just enjoying Puck's very presence, and having discussions on any number of random things with Bella.

Thus, the weekend passed quickly, as good times do, and suddenly it was Sunday, and the first of the guests were arriving.

"Come be social." Puck told her once he found her on the porch roof.

"I will." Sabrina replied absently. "I'm just saying goodbye to the weekend."

"You're what?" Puck raised his eyebrows at her.

Sabrina smiled. "Well, it's been really nice having the time off, not working myself crazy. I hadn't realized how tired I was. After this, it's back to work all the time, at least until Christmas break."

"You don't have to work this fast, you know." Puck said, sitting next to her on the roof.

"Yes I do." Sabrina said. "We all do. Two years sounds like a long time now, but that's two years to get through all of high school history, English, and gym, and still have time leftover to actually get some useful information out of those classes. It's nowhere near enough time to prepare."

"You worry too much." Puck said lazily.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Don't you care at all?"

"I try to let things work themselves out." Puck said. "Besides, if we all worried as much as you, nothing would get done."

"So you aren't worried at all?"

"I am." Puck said. "Just not as much as you. And we'll get there. I overheard the adults talking about how we're through eighth grade in the important subjects. If we keep going at this rate, then we'll be done with like, a year left for English. And with history..."

"True." Sabrina replied thoughtfully.

Puck grinned. "See? Nothing to worry about. Now let's go party."

The two went downstairs and joined the group in the house in eating unhealthy snack foods, drinking soda, socializing, and generally having a good time. They discussed normal things like sports, politics- it was slightly odd, hearing an everafter talk about the voting results and what they thought about the president- and the weather, as well as how Sabrina and Daphne had grown since they moved in, how they were settled, and other things like that. The subject of the Scarlet Hand and the upcoming war was completely ignored.

After most of the guests had left, the study group met and discussed the gym packet, answering more of the questions and working on various other assignments, mostly in English and history, though there were a few science and French assignments. After Sabrina and Puck had finished the basis of their English project, they headed home, and Sabrina went to bed early to prepare for the second marking period.


	40. Peaseblossom

**********AN~ Edited!**

* * *

"We're driving you to school today." Henry told the kids when they were all down for breakfast the next morning.

"But you never drive us to school." Daphne pointed out.

"Yes, however, we will be at school." Granny replied, slipping some pancakes on her plate. "I'm leaving Baba Yaga and Elvis behind to guard the house, and Sabrina- I'll need you to shield the cars, as the parking lot and street are not neutral, and everyone knows what my car looks like. I don't want it trashed."

"Can't get much worse than it already is." Puck muttered.

Sabrina, trying not to laugh, choked on her milk. She coughed several times, and, as Granny was asking her if she was alright, she nodded and said, "Fine, just got something in my throat. I'll try it on the cars, but I haven't really done much recently, 'cause of school and all, so it may not last."

"That's fine, as long as you try." Granny said.

"Question." Bella said. "Will we all fit in the cars?"

"There are twelve seats and nine of us." Granny said. "We should be fine."

"Can we give someone a ride or something?" Daphne said. "It seems like a bit of a waste of seats."

"True." Granny said. "Who would you like to invite?"

"Renee?" Bella asked. "She takes the bus."

"But she's off our route." Red said quietly. "It would be going completely out of our way. I think Peter Pan and his friends would work."

"Could we take all of them, though?" Jake asked.

"We couldn't do it today, anyway, though." Sabrina said. "They'll be gone by the time we drive past them."

"Speaking of which, it's time to go!" Granny said, glancing at the clock. "Com one, lieblings, you can talk about it at school today!"

They all piled into the cars, Henry, Veronica, and all the kids squeezing into the minivan while Granny and Uncle Jake took the Jalopy.

"Seems like the minivan is more popular." Veronica said dryly. "Now, I wonder why that could be..."

"Well, at least Jake's car is quiet when he drives it." Henry said.

They drove to school, laughing, and Sabrina, Puck, and Daphne headed for their first ever World History class.

"Welcome"! Hamlin said cheerfully. "This class is run differently than your other history class, so don't expect the same thing. Take any unoccupied seat, and I'll explain things to you after the rest of the class gets started."

The three took a set of seats near the back of the room and sat impatiently, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive and get set up. Once all the students were going, Mr. Hamlin called them up to the front.

"You'll each get a country to research." He told them once they reached the front, handing each of them a textbook. "This class is mostly older kids, so it's more of an independent study program. What you do is take your assigned country, research it, and write any information you think is important on the timeline around the wall."

He gestured to the walls, which were covered in a large series of even, multicolored stripes, on which some of the students were already writing.

"So, like, you give us the country, and we just write down what important happened when?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes." Mr. Hamlin said. "However, before you can be done with the class, you need to get up to the present day, which puts you behind somewhat."

"That's fine." Puck said breezily.

Sabrina rolled her eyes at him. "I'm sure we'll manage, Mr. Hamlin. What will the final be?"

"You read the wall, and I will formulate questions from what I think is the most important of the information written there, as well as information I'll tell you about countries that haven't been handed out yet."

"So what are our assignments?" Sabrina asked.

"Sabrina, you can have Israel. Puck, I'll give you Canada. Bella, you have Sri Lanka."

"Right." Sabrina said. "Do you have a Bible?"

"Yes, actually." Mr. Hamlin said, pulling one out from under his desk. "I'm not talking about the nation, though, but the location."

"Well, I can fill in the rest of the information later, right?" Sabrina asked. "This will make a good start. Is Jesus important?"

"From a religious standpoint, yes." Mr. Hamlin said. "I believe you could put that there around year one. I'd prefer things like wars, who the government was, the rulers, natural disasters, and other things like that."

"All right." Sabrina said. "The Bible's still a good starting point. There's no homework for this class?"

"No." Mr. Hamlin said. "Simply find more facts about the country. I recommend writing them down and then coming to school and rewriting them on the wall. Now, get to work."

Sabrina went off to work, leaving Puck and Bella to ask more questions, filling in facts about her country. She decided that she liked this class a lot more than her other history class, even if it was a little uncomfortable to be in with the older teenagers. They were talking with each other, sharing information they'd found or just conversing, and Sabrina found the atmosphere fun, but a little unnerving.

"Hey." Someone said from behind her.

Sabrina turned around to see a tall girl, obviously a fairy, with blond hair and green eyes, holding a sharpie and a book on India.

"Hi..." She said nervously. "You are...?"

"Peaseblossom." The blond girl said. "You're Sabrina, right? Puck's friend?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "You're his big sister? The one who married that other guy? Moth's brother?"

"The one exactly." Peaseblossom said dryly. "And I can't unmarry him or there will be a war, and I'll be alienated from all the people I've known for the last several thousand years."

"Don't you like being married to him, then?" Sabrina asked.

Peaseblossom made a face. "Well, it's all right, I guess, but it was an arranged marriage, and I was physically fifteen, and I didn't love him, and... it's not the best basis for a relationship. Especially since I'd never met him before."

Sabrina shuddered. "That sounds awful!"

Peaseblossom shrugged. "I make the best of it. Hey, I came over here because I wanted to meet the girl who could make my little brother grow up."

Sabrina shrugged. "It was his idea, not mine. Everyone makes a big deal out of it, but we're just friends." _much as I wish we weren't._

Peaseblossom grinned. "Well, it'll be nice to get to know you anyway. I prefer you to Renee already."

Sabrina blushed. "Don't say that! She's a nice enough girl. And you know Mustardseed has an enormous crush on her."

"I didn't, actually." Peaseblossom said sadly. "I haven't seen much of him since Puck refused to marry Moth, not that I blame him. Mab decided that until Moth was engaged, the treaty was not fulfilled, and I wasn't allowed back home."

Sabrina stared at her. "That's awful!"

Peaseblossom shrugged. "It was all right. Time seems different when you're an everafter, even a kid everafter. Waiting gets easier the longer you live."

Sabrina thought about that. Would she be like that, in a hundred years? Time seemed different already, but waiting didn't seem easier.

"'Course, you won't have to worry about that, so..." Peaseblossom smiled. "Come on, we ought to get to work."

Sabrina nodded, and sat back down at her desk to begin studying while Peaseblossom went to write her facts on the wall.

At the end of class, Sabrina called out, "Peaseblossom!"

Peaseblossom, who had been entering the hallway, turned. "Wassup?" She asked.

"You want to come to our study group after school?" Sabrina asked. "We're meeting in the library today after school. We do most days, actually. Or at my house, or Wendell's, or-"

"I'm not sure if I should do that." Peaseblossom said sadly. "I'll get in trouble with my mother in law."

"Please?" Sabrina wheedled. "It'll be at school, and we could really use someone who's been through more school. I know I need help with a lot."

"We-ll..." Peaseblossom though for a minute. "Fine, I guess one time couldn't hurt."

Sabrina smiled at Peaseblossom as she left, and when she was gone, hissed, "_Yes_!"

"What's so great?" Puck asked as they walked to gym.

"I met your sister today." Sabrina told him. "And she's coming to the study group."

"I thought she didn't want to hang out with me or Mustardseed anymore." Puck said. "I haven't seen her in forever, and neither has Mustardseed."

"I get the feeling Mab doesn't approve." Sabrina said. "And if Mab doesn't approve-"

"Then you don't do it." Puck finished. "Kind of like my mom in Faerie."

"Exactly." Sabrina pushed open the door of the gym and stopped. "Where do we go today?"

"Seats, I guess." Bella said. "That's where everyone else is."

"Morning, chickadees!" The Beast called. "We start gym today, and I expect you to have gym clothes by tomorrow! Today we play the games you _better_ have gotten right! Tomorrow we'll try the ones _most_ of you got right, and after that we'll work our way down. Boys against girls. Softball. Boys at bat. Play until I say stop."

No one moved.

"_WELL_?" He roared. "What are you _waiting_ for? _GET GOING_!"

The class scrambled. They played softball, baseball, various forms of tag, hide and go seek, kickball, and dodgeball as well as several other basic games while the Beast graded papers.

On the way out, the Beast called after them, "Hope you enjoyed today, because we're never playing those games again! Bring your gym clothes tomorrow!"

* * *

After school, the usual crowd had met in the library when Peaseblossom showed up and it all went quiet.

"Who are you?" Daphne asked finally.

"This is Peaseblossom." Sabrina jumped in, rescuing her. "She's Puck and Mustardseed's older sister. She's going to be joining us today because I thought we could use an upperclassman to help."

Red came up to Peaseblossom first, with a tentative smile on her face. "Hi." She said quietly. "Can you help me with science? Bella's good at it, but she's not patient, and she yells, and other people need science help, too."

Peaseblossom relaxed visibly. "Sure." She smiled. "What do you need help with?"

Sabrina turned away, satisfied that Peaseblossom would be all right now, and went to bug Mustardseed for facts about Israeli history.

The study group passed its time as usual, accepting Peaseblossom into their midst with no waves after Red's acceptance, and Sabrina, flying home with Puck discussing his bedroom, was suddenly struck by a realization.

"Say that again?" She said softly.

"Huh?" Puck said, "Say what?"

"That part about your room being- what? Built on an existing...?" Sabrina rolled her hands over each other, flapping a little harder to keep up with Puck.

"Built on an existing alternate dimension?" Puck asked. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome. For some reason someone had a portal to a shadow world by the back door, and the Three and the pigs just built around it and made it the main access, instead of needing a spell to get to."

"I think I understood that." Sabrina houted over the wind. "You mean they found it, right?"

"Yeah." Puck said in a way that suggested he thought Sabrina was a little slow. "Your grandma had a portal in her backyard, and my bedroom door is now that portal. My room is an alternate dim- where are you going?"

"I need to check something!" Sabrina shouted back. "I think I may have just solved a mystery!"

Puck rolled his eyes, but flew faster, following her home.

* * *

Once they arrived at the house, Sabrina ran for the bookshelf where Anastasia Grimm's journal was, and picked up where she'd left off, an entry where Anastasia had been mentioning a problem with the sword, a guardian or something wanting it back because of 'misuse.' She skipped forward until she saw the word sword again, and read.

_The sword will be placed in a pocket of space which can be reached if we need it, but the guardian insists we don't attempt to find it again because we've been depending on it in peace time, and the power is not meant to be used for this purpose. I will miss it, but I suppose we do need to be able to function without it._

"I figured it out!" Sabrina shouted.

"Figured what out?" Daphne asked, coming through the door and shedding her bags.

"The sword that Anastasia's been mentioning through this whole journal! I know why it's gone, and I know where it is!" Sabrina called, putting the book back and running for Puck's room.

"So are we going to look for it?" Bella asked, following Sabrina's headlong run at a slower pace with Puck, Daphne, Red and Wendell, who had come home with them.

Sabrina shrugged, pulling Puck's door open. "You can stay if you want, but I have to find this thing!"

Puck rolled his eyes and followed after her. "Grimm, this is not a good idea!"

"I don't care!" Sabrina replied. "I've been trying to figure this out for _ages_!"

"Do you even know where we're going?" Wendell panted.

"I'll know it when I see it!" Sabrina called, heading for the woods. "Puck, what was here when you first got the room?"

Puck, who had caught up to Sabrina easily and was pacing her, said, "The woods. I've never seen whatever it is you're looking for. Want my pixies looking, too?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Where _haven't _you been?"

"That way." Puck pointed to their left. "A _long_ way that way. It'll be faster if we fly."

Sabrina nodded. "Right." She pulled out her wings and shook them a bit to loosen them up. In response to Wendell's dumbfounded look, she said, "Don't tell. It's kind of a secret."

She grabbed Daphne and Red by the hands as Puck picked up Bella and Wendell, and the group flew off. They finally reached a cave with a group of pixies hovering in front of it. Sabrina touched down.

"This is it!" She called. "I can feel it!"

"Right." Daphne said. "Let's go."

"I dunno, Daph..." Sabrina said. "I'm not sure you should come."

"No." Daphne said, heading for the entrance. "I'm going."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said. "Be that way." She followed Daphne into the cave entrance, blinking at the sudden darkness.

"Uhhh... Grimm?" Puck asked. "I don't think you should be in there."

"How come?" Sabrina asked. She could feel something pulling at her, drawing her to the back of the cave.

"We can't get in." Bella said.

Sabrina suddenly saw that they were pushing against a barrier, that, now that she thought of it, she could see, a gently pulsing glow at the entrance of the cave.

"Oops." She said. "I guess I should have noticed that."

"Yeah." Puck said. "And it's probably there for a reason, so you should get out before you get yourself in trouble. Or at least get us in."

Wendell looked at them quizzically.

"I'll explain it later." Bella whispered.

Sabrina nodded. "Right." She concentrated on the barrier. It resisted shattering, or even changing. "I don't think I should break it." She said. "I could try to get you through, but it would take time. I'll just go get Daphne and we'll be right back, I promise."

"Grimm..." Puck gave her a look.

Before Sabrina could respond, she heard a a scream, and her head whipped around._ Daphne._

She took off running before anyone could say anything more.


	41. The Janus

**********AN~ Callbacks for the Musical are tomorrow! Wish me luck, everyone! And enjoy the chapter. I'll try to update quickly.**

* * *

"Daphne?" Sabrina called, running in the direction of the scream, "_DAPHNE_!"

She ran headlong through the dark of the cave, searching blindly for her sister. She almost tripped several times, until she took the time to conjure up a cluster of flames that paced her as she ran. The fire threw eerie shadows on the stones as she continued, still calling her sister's name.

Finally, she ran into something soft that gave as she hit it.

"Daphne?" Sabrina asked.

Daphne turned and gave Sabrina an irritated look. "What, Sabrina? You're interrupting."

"You- you screamed." Sabrina said. "I thought-"

"You thought wrong." Daphne turned back. "Lawrence surprised me, that's all. Now, can I get back to my conversation?"

"Really, Daphne." Sabrina said in exasperation, remembering her fire and snapping it out or existence, "What's gotten into you? And don't you know better than to talk with random strangers in dark caves? Who _are _you, anyway?" She asked Lawrence, stepping forward.

Lawrence gave her an ominous look. "I am a guardian. And you are trespassing."

"Wha-" Sabrina turned as another figure stepped out of the shadows "Ummm, Daph, I think we should go." She pushed Daphne backwards a little.

"Stop." The second figure said.

"You can't just-" Sabrina said, but she was stopped by the two forms throwing up their hands at once.

Sabrina tried to shove Daphne behind her, but Daphne struggled, and they were both suddenly hit by a blinding flash of light followed by a blackness so intense that it was as if the whole world had been erased, and Sabrina knew nothing more.

* * *

"Grimm?" A wavery voice was calling from far away.

Sabrina swam towards the voice, out of the blackness all around her. It seemed to cling to her, enticing her to explore it, showing her flickers of things that might have been images, but she continued towards the voice, breaking out of the sea of blackness after a long struggle. It seamed to still be there, at the edges of her vision, even after she blinked, realizing that she had been unconscious, and that she was lying on the ground in Puck's room, with Puck, Bella, Red, and Wendell leaning over her worriedly.

"Wha- what hapened?" Sabrina asked, rubbing her eyes to try to get the blackness at the edges of her vision to go away.

"You mean you don't remember?" Bella asked.

"I-" Sabrina tried to sit up, but was kept down by a hand on her chest, "I remember chasing after Daphne through the cave, and that you couldn't get in. I found Daphne, and I was trying to get her to leave, but there were these people, and then- Where _is_ Daphne? Is she all right?"

Everyone looked worried and nervous.

"What's wrong?" Sabrina sat up straight, ignoring the hands that fought to keep her lying down.

"We don't know." Red said. "There was an explosion and you came flying out of the cave mouth, but-"

"Daphne's still in there." Puck said.

"We have to go after her, then." Sabrina said, trying to stand.

Puck held her down. "Not yet, Grimm. Something happened to you. Do you feel different at all?"

"My vision's kind of weird, is all." Sabrina said. "It's like tunnel vision or something, but I think it's just from the light and then the dark and-"

"It's not just your eyesight." Wendell said.

"What?" Sabrina asked. "What do all of you know that I don't?"

"Grimm, it looks like you have some major burns or something." Puck said. "Around your right eye, and on your arm, and- on your wings, too. You're seriously telling me you can't feel it?"

Sabrina shook her head. "Not really. It's kind of cold, but- how bad are these burns?"

"Look at your arm." Red said.

Sabrina did, holding her arm up to her face. It was pitch black. She pulled her wings around so she could see them, too, and tried to get a closer look. They were a black so dark and unreflective, it was almost as if they were absorbing everything that headed toward them. You could still see the details, if you squinted, and they didn't _look_ burnt, just- dyed.

"Here." Bella, who had been digging around in her purse, pulled out a mirror. "Have a look."

Sabrina took the mirror with her blackened right arm, and held it towards her face. She had a big black smudge the same unreflective shade as her arm and wings, stretching from her left eyebrow to the top of her left cheek, shaped like a circle with an arrow sticking out of it, the arrow crossing over the bridge of her nose and ending on the opposite cheek, plastered on her face.

Sabrina hissed. "That's ugly. And obvious."

"We could try to cover it up with makeup..." Bella said doubtfully, "But it looks like it'd show through. And with the arrow, you can't really just call it a black eye."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I don't care how it looks! We have to go find Daphne!"

"Not so fast, Grimm." Puck said. "You're not going anywhere by yourself, and by all likelihood, Daphne's in that cave. You're going to get us through that barrier before we do anything."

"Right." Sabrina said, snapping the mirror shut with a decisive snap. "Let me up, will you?"

Red reached out a hand to Sabrina, who took it and used it to help herself up as Puck removed his hand. After a brief struggle rising, Sabrina headed for the cave entrance, searching for the barrier. She looked around for several minutes, still getting used to the odd blackness around her eyesight, but didn't see any barrier.

"That's funny." She said.

"What is?" Bella asked.

"It's not there." Sabrina responded.

"Are you sure?" Puck asked doubtfully. "These things don't usually just disappear, you know."

"Look for yourself." Sabrina said, gesturing towards the cave entrance. "There's nothing there."

"I believe you." Red said quietly.

Sabrina smiled at her as Puck walked to the cave entrance and felt around for the barrier. Suddenly, the tunnel vision was enhanced, then it lightened up and she was seeing Red someplace else, a dark place, surrounded by trees.

"That's funny." Puck said. "I could have sworn there was a barrier here before."

Sabrina blinked, and, with another flash of black, returned to the here and now to find Red looking at her worriedly.

"Told you." Sabrina said. "Come on, guys. We need to find Daphne!"

Puck led the way, with Sabrina following, closely watched by Red. Wendell and Bella brought up the rear, as Bella checked her face in her compact one last time.

"I still can't get used to the fact that she's an everafter." Wendell muttered to Bella.

"It takes a while." Bella replied, rubbing the underside of her eye briefly. She closed the mirror and moved forward with everyone else. "But she hasn't been doing much with it recently. School and all."

"Hasn't been doing much of anything, from what Puck says." Wendell said dryly.

Sabrina stopped listening to Wendell and Bella's conversation when she realized Red was trying not to look like she was watching her.

"What?" She asked irritably. "Did Puck make you watch me or something?"

"Well... yeah." Red grinned a little."But I would have anyway."

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "I'm fine! A little dizzy maybe, and it's still hard to see, but there's nothing wrong with me!"

Red winced but continued anyway. "You got this funny look earlier, when I told you I believed you. First you were fine, but then your eyes got all black, and- it was like you were looking _through_ me, not at me."

"It was weird." Sabrina said. "My vision like, blacked out or something, and then I was seeing you, but you were someplace else. It was dark, and- and then Puck said something and I snapped out of it."

"Maybe it has something to do with what happened in the cave." Red said.

"Great." Sabrina groaned. "More weirdness. Hey, you won't tell anyone, will you? About the dizziness? Or the tunnel vision?"

"I'd promise, but..." Red said, "it might be serious. I won't tell unless it gets worse, though. Or doesn't go away."

"Guess that's all I can ask." Sabrina said dryly. "Nice that you're more mature than I am already."

"I'm older than you are." Red said. "And I wasn't crazy the whole time."

"I think I may have known that." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "I don't know how, though."

"Guys!" Puck called. "There's a light up ahead!"

Sabrina, Red, Bella, and Wendell hurried up behind Puck quietly. They were just beginning to sneak forward when someone stepped out of the shadows to their right.

"Stop _doing_ that!" Sabrina complained.

"Come forward." The figure gestured to her.

Sabrina took a few steps forward, and the hooded person grabbed her. and pulled her through the wall.

"Hey!" She protested, then stopped, momentarily halted by her surroundings.

She was in a brightly lit room with glassy walls, and she could see the area she'd just come from quite clearly. She spent a few minutes watching Puck's shocked face through the wall before she turned to study the room in general. It was quite comfortable looking, with wall-to-wall carpeting, a small table, several easy chairs, a kitchenette, and a T.V.

"Where am I?" Sabrina asked, clutching her head as diziness swept over her.

The figure pulled off his hood, revealing a young, handsome enough face, with black hair and a scar that matched hers on his left eye. "I am Lawrence. My counterpart, Lucia, is with your sister at the moment. You recovered much more quickly than she did. I take it you are the more resilient of the pair?"

"Sure..." Sabrina said warily. "But getting back to my first question, where am I? Also, why am I here, what's with my face, why do we match, and when can I leave?"

Lawrence gave off a dark chuckle. "Perhaps we should sit." He gestured to the chairs.

Sabrina took one, greatful for the opportunity not to have to try to stand straight without falling over anymore.

Just then, a girl, about the same age as Lawrence with pure white hair and a white mark, the inverse of the one on Sabrina and Lawrence's faces, walked into the room.

"She's still asleep, and will stay that way for another half an hour or so." The girl said. "Hello. My name is Lucia. And you are...?"

"Sabrina Grimm." Sabrina said.

Lucia took a seat and chuckled. "Well, that's ironic. I suppose it's only fitting that Grimms should be the guardians, as it was placed in their hands."

Lawrence growled.

"Don't mind him." Lucia told Sabrina cheerfully. "He's almost always angry. It's part of being the Janus. We balance each other out."

"The... the what?" Sabrina asked.

"The Janus." Lucia said. "It's a title passed down from the Greek god of choices, of looking forward and back. Sort of the god of prophecy, too, but mostly Apollo got credit for that. They did need him, after all."

"Wait, back up." Sabrina said. "The Greek gods were _real_?"

"All the mythological gods were." Lawrence said. "They weren't _gods_, of course. They were the much more powerful predecessors of everafters."

"So..." Sabrina said, "What happened?"

"They fought." Lawrence said shortly. "Fought to the death over what started out as petty differences. Janus- a two-headed boy at that time, with the marks we all have on either of his heads- and Apollo, working in conjunction, saw it coming. Apollo and his wife, Artemis, chose to go into hiding, because it was one prophecy too many, and he didn't want either of them to be used for evil. Especially when he saw how his sister, Diana, would be killed in battle. the Janus, on the other hand, took a more active approach. He didn't want the world destroyed, so he decided to siphon off the magic of his counterparts and place it in two vessels- a sword and a book."

"Would you like some food?" Lucia interrupted.

"I'm good." Sabrina said.

"Anyway." Lawrence continued. "It wasn't hard for Janus to siphon off the magic, because the 'gods' were already leaking it out all over the place. Fairies were the first to gain it, they were originally called nymphs- naiads, or Faerie, and dryads, or Fae. They were the best outcome. Sometimes the magical leakage created things like hobgoblins and such, which, as the earliest true everafters, still fell into the category of the fairy kingdom. Janus simply pulled off more of that magic and stored it in the forward sword- which we have here- and the backwards book- which we don't know the location of."

"The backwards book?" Sabrina asked.

"We think it might be written backwards, but it may just be that it looks backward in time," Lucia said. "I never opened it, so..."

"He couldn't fit all the magic in those two, even changed as they became when he worked with them." Lawrence kept going as if there had been no interruption. "So he stored the rest of the magic in people- locking it away so that it wouldn't become loose until after the war, long after the 'gods' were dead. This magic birthed the everafters you know now. He siphoned off enough magic that they wouldn't destroy the world, and then he took his own magic and put it into our predecessors, then went off to fight the war."

"They watched over the sword and the book for a while, but the forward Janus had seen what was coming, and they dumped it on us as soon as they could, with no explanation." Lucia interrupted. "The only reason we know this is because Lawrence saw it."

"Saw... like, saw what had happened?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes." Lawrence said. "You will be able to do this, also. Control comes with time. Until then, be careful what you touch. You may find out more than you planned to know."

"Watch what you look at, too." Lucia said. "You're already an everafter. This will mess with your development considerably."

"Wonderful." Sabrina said dryly. "Just when life was complicated enough."

"And trying to block your sister will cause problems." Lucia said, glancing at Sabrina' arm. "You shouldn't have done that."

"What sort of problems?" Sabrina asked warily.

"Can't tell." Lucia said. "It's against oracle rules."

"So... back to my questions." Sabrina said, deciding to deal with the secrecy for now, since her head was starting to hurt.

"You're in our house, you're here so we can explain things to you and give you the sword, and also so you can retrieve your sister once she wakes, the mark on your face is the sign of the backwards Janus, or the one who looks backwards in time, or sees the past, we match because I am the previous backwards Janus, you're my replacement, and you can leave once your sister is awake. I explained what was going to happen to her already, in the cave." Lawrence rattled off, ticking the answers to the questions off on his fingers.

Sabrina blinked, "Will I be able to do that?"

"Eventually." Lawrence chuckled. "Any more questions?"

"Can I have some Advil or something?" Sabrina asked. "I don't feel very good."

"Sure." Lucia got up and rummaged around in a cabinet for a time, returning with a cup of water and two pills.

Sabrina took the pills and swallowed them, then said. "Thanks. Now, you're everafters, right?"

"Yes." Lucia responded, taking a chair and sitting. "And, to answer the question you were going to ask, your sister will also be one."

Sabrina blinked. "Well, now I won't have to worry about her dying when I'm still young. Are you two in any fairy tales?"

"No." Lawrence said. "Unless your story qualifies. Then, yes."

"However." Lucia said, "While we are everafters, now that we have passed on the Janus, we will no longer retain our immortality."

"So... will you age normally, or will you get old all of a sudden?" Sabrina asked.

"We will die very soon after you and your sister leave." Lucia said. "It will be nice, to finally head to the afterlife."

"Can you see what heaven is like?" Sabrina asked.

Lucia shook her head. "I can see my death, but no further. And the picture is becoming less clear by the minute. It is a sign that the gift is passing to your sister."

Just then, there was a moan from the other room.

"She's waking up." Lawrence said, rising. "Now we can go show you the sword. It's time to claim your inheritance."


	42. Retrieval

**AN~ Now, a clarification from the last chapter: Yes, I know Artemis and Apollo were brother and sister. But I tweaked the facts for my plotline.**

* * *

Sabrina got up dizzily and followed Lawrence and Lucia into the next room, where Daphne was sitting up in one of two twin beds.

"I knew you were coming." Daphne said wonderingly. She looked normal, except for a large white mark on her face that was the inverse of Sabrina's.

Sabrina made no reply, simply leaning against the wall, exhausted.

"Come on, then." Lucia said, "Let's go get the sword."

Sabrina followed the other three forward more slowly, listening wearily to Lawrence and Lucia talk and Daphne reply with 'I knew you were going to say that!' They walked through a series of rooms and corridors that got darker and dingier as they went along, until they finally reached one that was simply another part of the network of caves they had been in originally, which held a single platform on which rested a simple wooden sword.

"_This_ is what we came for?" Daphne asked skeptically. "The great magical sword Sabrina's been obsessing over for ages?"

Sabrina would have protested about the 'obsessing' comment, but she didn't think she had the energy to speak.

"Please." Lawrence said. "Just pick up the sword. I'm quite ready to move on."

Daphne shoved her way past Sabrina to pick up the sword, but Lucia held up a hand to stop her.

"Not that way!" She said. "Together. You have to grab it at the same time."

Sabrina wobbled her way forward, looked across the pedestal at Daphne, who glared back, and then the two of them reached down and grabbed the sword, pulling in opposite directions.

There was a flash of multicolored light, and Sabrina and Daphne went flying backwards, blacking out again. Sabrina's last thought before she succumbed to unconsciousness was _I hope this doesn't happen too often._

* * *

"Good morning, sunshine." Daphne said sarcastically as Sabrina woke up.

Sabrina groaned and held a hand to her head, not opening her eyes. "This is going to be really annoying really fast, isn't it?" She asked.

"Probably." Daphne said snarkily. "Way to mess everything up, by the way."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina asked, her eyes snapping open at Daphne's tone.

"I _mean_," Daphne said, "That if you hadn't jumped in front of me before, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"What mess?" Sabrina asked, glaring at Daphne. "You look pale."

"Duh, smarty!" Daphne rolled her eyes. "I'm all white! And you're like, pitch black!"

"When did that happen?" Sabrina asked.

Daphne shrugged. "When we touched the sword, I guess. I passed out, too."

"And Lucia and Lawrence just disappeared?" Sabrina asked.

"I guess." Daphne said. "Now, can you stand, Missy? We've got to get back to the others."

Sabrina struggled to get up, then realized she was clinging tightly to a wooden sword. She looked over to Daphne, realizing she was holding a matching one. She stopped trying to get up for a minute and turned her sword over in her hands, getting a good look at it. It was an average-looking thing, like one of the wooden swords she would use in training, except that there was a dot of blue paint on the end with an S sharpied on it.

"Mine has a yellow dot and a D, in case you were wondering." Daphne said. "Now can we get going?"

"In a minute." Sabrina said, running her finger over the dab of paint. "I want to see- whoa."

As Sabrina had run her finger over the dot of paint, the sword had shimmered, and as it did so, transformed. Once it stopped shimmering, it was a long, thin rapier with a sapphire in the hilt.

"Sweet!" Daphne said, running her finger over her own sword until she achieved a similar result, ending with a shorter sword with a topaz gem in the base of the hilt.

Sabrina used the sword to help herself up, then, leaning on it heavily, headed down the hallway they had come from. Daphne followed, catching up quickly and passing her, heading down the hallway ahead of Sabrina, who followed more slowly, still dizzy. They traveled back through the halls that way, passing through rooms that seemed as if they had been empty for years, reaching the room Daphne had been asleep in and the main room, both of which had a long-abandoned feel that would have creeped Sabrina out under other circumstances. When they got to the clear wall, no one was on the other side.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like it's been a lot longer than I thought it was?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina nodded. "It's been a hundred years, give or take a decade." She said. "This place hasn't been touched in ages."

Daphne stared at Sabrina. "Tell me you're joking."

Sabrina shook her head. "I feel too sick to joke."

"How are we going to get back?" Daphne asked worriedly.

Sabrina shook her head. "If we could- I dunno, rewind time or somehing- but that's impossible."

"No it's not." Daphne said. "I... I _see_ you doing it."

"Wait- you just _see_? You don't like, black out, then see it, then come back?" Sabrina asked, ignoring Daphne's previous comment.

Daphne shook her head. "No. Why? Do you?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "And I have tunnel vision or something."

"I don't." Daphne said. "Maybe it's because you're already an everafter."

"Maybe." Sabrina said. "Speaking of which, what was that about me rewinding time?"

"You can do it." Daphne said. "You'll do it a lot, when we get back to when we're supposed to be."

Sabrina stared at her sister. "So... do you see _how_ I do this, exactly?"

Daphne shrugged. "Concentrate on time? I can't see inside your head, thank God."

Sabrina nodded, then sat down on the floor and tried to concentrate on time. After about fifteen minutes, she looked up with a sigh.

"I can't do it." She told Daphne.

"Yes you can!" Daphne said urgently. "You have to! Try again! Here, maybe if you look at a clock-" She rooted around the room for a minute, then reappeared with an alarm clock.

Sabrina stared at the alarm clock for some time, with no result, until she remembered a few days ago, when Ms. Smirt had said that she would be teaching the class that day. It had felt like time had stopped then. Later she'd thought she imagined it, but now, with what Daphne was saying...

Could she have really done it?

She stared at the clock. _Stop._ She told it mentally.

The room froze. Sabrina looked around. Nothing was moving but her. She wondered if Daphne would stay put if she traveled back in time. Then again, her clothes were staying with her, and so was the sword, which suggested that if she was touching something, it would go with her. Following that thought process, she grabbed Daphne, then returned to staring at the clock.

Slowly, the hands began moving in reverse. Slower, then faster and faster as Sabrina stared, until Daphne shouted "_STOP_!"

Sabrina stopped, and the world resumed its normal pace.

"I saw you pass the right time," Daphne said, "so I stopped you early. We've been gone long enough that they left already. You want to try again, more slowly?"

Sabrina nodded, clutching her head. "Tell me what time to stop."

She stared at the clock until it began rewinding, and after a much longer time, Daphne again told her to stop.

"We've just left the room." She said. "Come one, Puck's getting impatient."

Sabrina got up with a groan and tottered to the clear wall, leaned on it, and fell through to the other side, landing on Puck.

"Whoa, Grimm!" Puck shouted, staggering backwards to the opposite wall, which, thankfully, held up.

"Ow." Sabrina whimpered, feeling too bad to be happy Puck had his arms around her.

"Sorry." Puck said, pulling Sabrina back. "What happened to you? You're all black!"

"Don't be hatin'." Sabrina joked tiredly.

Puck grinned. "So, did you find Daphne?"

"Yes she did." Daphne said, walking through the wall.

"Daphne!" Red jumped up, giving Daphne a hug. "What happened? And why are you an albino?"

Sabrina groaned, interrupting.

Puck gave her an anxious look. "You don't look so good, Grimm."

"Yeah, you haven't gotten up yet." Bella said. "What's wrong?"

"I feel awful." Sabrina said quietly.

"We'd better get you back," Puck said, picking her up bridal style easily, "Come on guys, we're walking this time."

Sabrina faded in and out of consciousness throughout the walk, not fully waking up until she was back in her bedroom in full dark.

"I think she's out of the danger zone." A voice was saying. "We can't tell, though. And that black may never come off."

"It's her own fault." Another voice replied. Daphne. "If she hadn't jumped in front of me, we'd be fine now."

"You don't know that." The first voice, which Sabrina thought belonged to Baba Yaga, replied. "Your skin might be normal, but you're not sick. I believe it has to do with having this extra ability thrust on her when she was still at a crucial point in her original everafter development."

"She'll open her eyes soon." Daphne said.

Sabrina did so. "What's going on?" She asked.

"I explained everything to everyone else because you passed out on the way back, and you've been asleep for hours." Daphne said. "Everyone was _really _worried for a while until I told them you wouldn't die. Today, anyway. Wendell went home, and pretty much everyone else is asleep. I was watching you, but Baba Yaga wanted to take over. Just in case. Even though you'll be fine."

"I have a guest." Baba Yaga said. "And you need to get some sleep, Daphne."

"I'll go downstairs." Daphne said, getting up and leaving.

Sabrina sat up in bed and looked at Baba Yaga expectantly. "So where is this guest?"

There was a tinkling chuckle, and a tiny young woman with long blond hair appeared on Baba Yaga's shoulder. "That would be me." The woman said.

"Uh..." Sabrina rubbed her head. "I should know who you are. I know I should."

"Thumbelina." The tiny woman supplied.

"Right!" Sabrina said. "I _knew_ I should have known that. So why are you here?"

"The whole town is abuzz with the news that you're a post-natal everafter!" Thumbelina said, "I wanted to see for myself."

"_What?_" Sabrina hissed. "Who told? I'm going to kill Wendell!"

"You're in no condition to kill anyone." Baba Yaga said matter-of-factly. "Except maybe yourself."

"So it's true, then?" Thumbelina asked.

Sabrina nodded. "Why does it matter?" Sabrina asked.

"Because I'm one, too." Thumbelina said, unfurling a pair of butterfly wings.

Sabrina gaped. "For real?"

Tumbelina nodded. "We're actually half of the living post-natal fairies in the world."

"So do we all have different wings?" Sabrina asked.

Thumbelina nodded. "Tom has bat wings. He's another pixie type. And I believe that the remaining post-natal fairy has the wings of a flying squirrel. I've never met him- or her, you see, because Mab isn't particularly welcoming to sprites. She believes that any pixie that isn't bound to a full-sized fairy is the equivalent of a traitor."

Sabrina winced. "That stinks worse than Puck's socks." She told Thumbelina sympathetically.

Thumbelina laughed. "That it does. Now, do you have any questions for me?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said with a yawn, rubbing her head. "Can you come back tomorrow? During the day? After school? Because I'm falling asleep, and I'm getting dizzy again and..."

"I understand." Thumbelina said. "It was rude of me, coming over this late. I'm sorry. I'll let you sleep now."

Baba Yaga and Thumbelina left the room, and Sabrina rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

"I don't think you're up to going to school today." Granny said doubtfully, looking at Sabrina.

"Come on!" Sabrina said, "I can't miss school! This is important!"

"Your health is important, too." Henry pointed out. "If you overexert yourself, you'll just end up missing _more_ school."

"It took you half an hour to just get up and dressed." Bella pointed out. "Besides, do you really want to go to school dyed pitch black?"

Sabrina made a face. "Daphne's going!"

"Daphne didn't pass out yesterday. Daphne isn't having headaches, dizzy spells, or tunnel vision." Daphne told Sabrina, rolling her eyes. "Also, Daphne is right here and doesn't appreciate being spoken about as if she were elsewhere."

"Stop talking in the third person." Puck told her. "It's funny, but weird. Grimm, I think you should stay here. We'll bring you the work you missed. Just... stay here, and get better, OK?"

Sabrina sighed in defeat. "Fine." She said. "I'll stay here and make up lists of world history facts."

"Good girl." Granny said cheerfully. "Now back to bed. I'll bring you what you need."

Sabrina trooped dutifully off to bed, but when she reached the stairs, she stopped. Those stairs had never looked so tall before, or so steep. Or so _wobbly_. "Help?" She called.

Red, who had been on her way to the kitchen from the bathroom, looked at Sabrina and shook her head sadly. "Poor Sabrina." She said, walking over. "Here, I'll help you."

"Thank you." Sabrina said gratefully, leaning on Red's arm as they climbed the stairs. "I was trying to prove I was better, but it didn't work."

"Granny told you you're not going to school?" Red asked, helping Sabrina up.

Sabrina nodded, then clutched her head. "Yeah. And thanks again."

"No problem." Red smiled, heading back towards the stairs. "Can you make it to your bed all right?"

"I hope so." Sabrina said dryly. "It'd be awfully demeaning if I collapsed on the floor of my bedroom."

Red laughed and descended the stairs quickly, and Sabrina staggered into her room, collapsing on the bed.

_This is not normal. _She thought. After all, Daphne wasn't having problems like she was! Lucia had said it would be different for her since she was already an everafter, and Baba Yaga had said something about crucial development time. Did that mean she would get better? Or would she have to live like this and just get used to it?

As she was thinking, Daphne walked in, and Sabrina decided to make use of her sister's newfound talent.

"Daph." She said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Can I stop you?" Daphne grumbled.

"What has gotten _into_ you?" Sabrina asked, fed up with Daphne's attitude. "Ever since Sunday you've been a complete _jerk_!"

"What business is it of yours how I act?" Daphne snapped. "I can act however I darn well please, and you should stay out of my business!" She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Sabrina winced as the noise made her head throb. She hadn't even gotten to ask Daphne her question. "Whatever." She muttered. "See if I care."

She sat in her room, waiting until the rest of the household had left for school, then climbed slowly out of bed. She wobbled her way over to the door, and was opening it slowly when a voice stopped her.

"Back to bed, Grimm." Puck told her, the amusement in his face belying her stern tone.

"Why are you still here?" Sabrina asked, running her still-black skin through her hair, which remained the same shade. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"The Marshmallow saw you getting out of bed, and the Old Lady told me to stay behind and keep you from getting yourself killed." Puck said. "Now get back in bed and stay there, unless you want me to have to stay here."

"Fine." Sabrina sighed, toddling back to bed and struggling to climb under the covers. "Go tho school." She said.

"Take a nap, Grimm." Puck said, helping her with the covers. "Baba Yaga said she'd be in here later with Thumbelina, and you want to be able to actually get something out of that."

"I said fine!" Sabrina snapped, secretly glad that _something_would happen that day. "Now go, and bring back my schoolwork! You're going to be late!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Puck said, saluting as he left the room and Sabrina settled down to try to sleep.


	43. Secrets Revealed

"Sabrina?" Thumbelina's voice woke Sabrina up. "I thought we could talk now."

Sabrina blinked groggily. "Sure." She said. "What are we talking about?"

"Mainly, I'm here to warn you." Thumbelina said, hovering over Sabrina's head. "But I thought you might have question, since I'm also a post-natal fairy."

"A- a what?" Sabrina blinked.

Thumbelina giggled. "That's what I call us. Post, meaning after, and natal, having to do with birth. Thus, one who becomes a fairy after birth."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "That's... actually pretty cool. Wait a second. Back up. Warn me about what?"

"Your... abilities, shall we say." Thumbelina said, landing on the bedpost.

Sabrina sat up with a struggle, ending up- after some minutes- leaning against the headboard and fighting against her dizziness. "You have them too, right?" She asked.

Thumbelina nodded. "I can make myself invisible, heal, and block other magical attacks."

"That's all?" Sabrina asked. "I can do a lot more than that."

"Which is what I've come to warn you about." Thumbelina said. "What all can you do, by the way?"

Sabrina ticked off her abilities on her fingers. "I can stop time, control the weather and the elements, work with barriers, detect lies, and affect gravity."

Thumbelina nodded. "You're probably close to your fulcrum- when you'll get your last power. See- and I told the old witch this already, she didn't know before- but what happens is, when you first start out on your development, your body will begin the change on the inside, making you capable of living forever, then you'll start spurting magical abilities right and left, until you've got so many you won't know what to do with them. After that, you'll hit a plateau for a while, get used to your powers, get some control, store up some reserves. Then you'll start to lose your powers, one by one, until you have only two or three left. Tom only has one, actually."

Sabrina blinked. "So... do you get to choose?"

"Your body does the choosing, in a way." Thumbelina said. "My- and Tom shares the idea- my theory is that the plateau of no change is when you figure out which abilities suit you best, on a subconscious level, and those are the powers that remain afterwards. Once you're down to your minimum powers, then you're done, a full everafter."

"Wow." Sabrina said, rubbing her skull. "Anything else important I should know about being an everafter that nobody's explained to me?"

"Well..." Thumbelina said, "Were you planning on having children?"

"Not anytime soon, no." Sabrina replied. "Why?"

"You need to age to have a kid." Thumbelina said. "It's why there are so few children of everafters. Their mothers didn't age, so the babies couldn't develop. If suddenly every female everafter in the world was forced to age again, there would be a lot more kids in this town."

Sabrina blinked. "What happens if they age really fast all of a sudden?" She asked.

"The baby would probably die from the shock." Thumbelina said.

Sabrina shuddered. "What about... you know... umm..."

"Actually, I don't know." Thumbelina said. "Could you be more specific?"

Sabrina blushed. "Well, ummm... periods?"

Thumbelina laughed. "Unfortunately, you'll still get that."

Sabrina made a face. "Fun."

"What else should you know...?" Thumbelina mused. "There's a certain hierarchy among everafters, but you would know that already. You won't be looked down on as much for being a child, because many everafters opted to remain children, but, on the other hand, you may be disrespected for being so young- literally so, not physically. Other than that, though, I believe you know all that you'll need to to get aby as an everafter. You're better prepared than most, being in a family that know about us already, versus just being dumped into it with no idea what will happen, like poor Tom."

"What exactly is between you and Tom?" Sabrina asked. "You're married to some king of the pixies, right?"

"Yes." Thumbelina said. "When the sparrow brought me to the sprite kingdom, I was near death, something they don't mention in my story, and the king saved my life. We fell in love, and we're still happily married. Tom's... well, he's like the brother I never had."

"It's so weird." Sabrina said. "Hearing people who look like they're in their late teens talking about how they've been married for ages."

Thumbelina laughed. "You'll get used to it. People married young back then. Because, for most of us, life was short, and it was best to take advantage of it while it lasted. Most people didn't live past forty."

Sabrina made a face. "So they got married at... what? Sixteen?"

"Some royals married as young as five." Thumbelina said. "But most commoners didn't get married until they were at least your age. However, yes, an unmarried twenty-year-old was considered a spinster."

Sabrina stared. "I wouldn't _consider_ getting married before that."

"You may change your tune." Thumbelina said mildly. "If you meet someone special. Of course, you'd probably be more likely to if you knew you could die at any time. Speaking of which," She continued, glancing at the clock, "It's past three, and your family will be coming home soon. I should go."

"'Bye." Sabrina said.

Thumbelina hopped up and fluttered towards the door. "See you."

A short time later, Red, Puck, and Bella burst into Sabrina's room.

"The entire school knows you're an everafter." Puck stated, sounding shocked and worried.

Sabrina blinked. "You don't think Wendell could have told?"

Bella shook her head. "He _swore_ he wouldn't, and he seemed a surprised as the rest of us when everyone was talking about it."

"The only way they could know is if our conversation was bugged." Red said quietly. "And they have ways. Ways we might never guess. Oh, I _wish_ I could remember!"

"It's not your fault." Sabrina said. "They were bound to find out anyway. I mean, my skin is pitch black."

"They didn't know about Daphne, though." Bella said. "Nobody said anything about her being an everafter."

"Speaking of which, has anyone noticed what a brat Daphne's being recently?" Puck asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, then clutched her head. "She shouted at me this morning because I asked her what her problem was because she snapped at me _again_. I mean, I get it if she wants some space, but I just don't know what's wrong with her! She's being a brat, she's being stupid, and headstrong and not listening and-"

"Acting like you, you mean." Puck cut in.

Sabrina blushed. 'Maybe. But I don't think I'm that bad."

"I know what's wrong with her." Red said quietly.

The three older kids' heads turned toward Red simultaneously.

"Say what?" Sabrina asked.

"I overheard when it happened." Red explained. "And she would have told me anyway. But she wouldn't want me to tell you."

"Tell us what?" Bella asked.

"What happened with Veronica." Red said, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"Please, Red?" Sabrina asked. "If it's making Daphne act like this, then I need to know."

Red sighed. "Fine. You'll just ask your mom if I don't, and she would tell you. So you remember on Sunday, how we all wanted to go out for a walk in the woods because it was warm out?"

The teens nodded.

"Right." Red said, blushing as they continued to stare at her. "And you all asked permission, but Veronica held Daphne back? Well, I stayed back too, to listen, and Veronica didn't want Daphne to go, and Daphne was like, 'why?' and Veronica said it was because she was a human and a kid and she pretty much told Daphne she wasn't capable of taking care of herself and it made Daphne got pretty upset."

"Wow." Bella said. "That's awful."

"Awful or not, she's still being horrible about it." Puck said. "And not proving she's mature at all."

"True." Sabrina said. "But still... that wasn't like my mom. I mean, unless she's changed a lot since she woke up, or I'm remembering her wrong or something, she used to be nice and caring and awesome. Not nasty. And she's been... distant since she woke up, too. I've been meaning to talk with her about it for ages. I think it's time I actually do it."

"Now's probably not the best time." Puck told Sabrina warily. "You can't even climb a set of stairs."

Sabrina shot Red a look. Red shook her head.

"I didn't tell him, I swear." She whispered.

"I was watching." Puck said. "Can't it wait until you're a _little_ better, at least?"

Sabrina shook her head, struggling to get up. Bella gave her a hand. "I said I'd wait before, and something always came up. I need to find out what's going on, _now_. Help me downstairs."

Puck sighed, but wrapped her arm around his shoulders. They were much higher than Sabrina remembered them being, and she repressed a shiver of enjoyment at how gentle he was being. Bella slid under Sabrina's other arm, and the four trooped downstairs. The found Veronica in the kitchen, by which time Sabrina had given up on even attempting to walk, simply dragging her feet as Puck and Bella supported her.

"What is it, Sabrina?" Granny asked. "You should be in bed."

"I need to talk to mom." Sabrina said. "Now."

"Can't it wait, Sabrina?" Veronica said absently. "I'm making dinner. Or you could talk to someone else about it."

"No." Sabrina said. "I need to talk to you, and it has to be now. This is important."

Veronica sighed, and put down her spoon. "Let's go to my room, then. I had a feeling this would happen eventually."

"Upstairs _again_?" Puck whined. "But we just carried her _down_!"

"Get over it." Bella said. "How about you fly and actually _carry_ her, if it's that big a deal?"

"How about no?" Sabrina said hastily. "This is actually less embarassing, thanks."

The four headed back upstairs, minus Red this time, and entered Veronica's bedroom. Puck and Bella deposited Sabrina on the bed, then left, closing the door behind them.

"What did you want to talk about?" Veronica asked, sitting on the bed next to Sabrina.

"You've been really distant since you woke up." Sabrina said, deciding to cut to the chase. "It's like you don't even care anymore. And Sunday, you seriously hurt Daphne with something you said. Why? Did you have some epiphany when you were asleep and decide it wasn't worth it to make an effort or something?"

"No, no." Veronica said hurriedly, "It's not like that at all."

"Then what is it?" Sabrina cried. "You've been completely ignoring everyhing! You might as well still be asleep, for all the contact we have!"

"I do care, Sabrina, honestly I do." Veronica said sadly. "I've just... had something else on my mind, and it distracted me. I didn't know it showed that much."

"You should tell." Sabrina said. "If it's that important, then we all deserve to know. And it'll help."

Veronica sighed. "I would have. In fact, I was going to tell your father the day that we were spelled. But then... well, I had to find out for myself. And when I did..."

"What was it?" Sabrina half shouted.

"I had a baby." Veronica said quietly.

Sabrina froze.

"What?" She whispered.

"I was pregnant when I was spelled." Veronica said. "And, according to Nurse Sprat, I had the baby when I was asleep. Somwhere out there, you have another brother or sister."

"For real?" Sabrina asked. "And the Scarlet Hand must have taken it, then."

Veronica nodded. "That was my guess. You mentioned a baby in Red's room- I thought she might know, and I questioned her, but she doen't remember."

"We'll have to find him, then." Sabrina said matter-of-factly. "And you've got to tell the rest of the family. We can't find her- or him- unless we're all looking."

Veronica sighed. "Fine. I'll tell. Later. Starting with your father, in private, so he doesn't explode."

Sabrina snorted. "Good idea. And try and pay more attention to the family, please? Or you might lose us, too."

Veronica smiled sadly. "I've already lost my baby Sabrina. She grew up and got mature on me. Come on, I'll take you back to your room."

She got up and pulled Sabrina with her, and Sabrina, leaning heavily on her mother, headed back for her room.

"This is demeaning." She muttered.

Veronica laughed. "You'll probably get better."

When they got to Sabrina's room Daphne was already there. She got up to leave, but Sabrina stopped her.

"Stay, please?" Sabrina asked, "I've got to talk to you."

"Fine." Daphne muttered as Veronica left. "What is it?"

"First off, you can't take stuff out on me. I'm not here so you can dump guilt on me." Sabrina said. "Second, You're acting immature and it needs to stop. Third, if you want to prove you can take care of yourself, fine, I'm all for it. But you can't use me as your scapegoat. Fourth, I heard what mom said to you, and I'm sorry, but you've been acting like a jerk. Fifth, I found out why she's been so distracted."

Daphne gaped. "How dare-"

"How dare I what?" Sabrina interrupted. "You're such a hypocrite, Daphne. I've taken the blame for you and taken hits for you and done everything for you, and you tell me what a horrible attitude I've got and how awful I've been acting, but are you really better? You expect me to just lie down an accept it when you want to shout at me? I'm done with that. I understand how you feel. I do. But you can't take things out on me. Either you're independent, or you need me. You can't have it both ways, sweetheart."

Daphne just stared at Sabrina. Sabrina looked back calmly.

"I went to see why mom was being so nasty for you." Sabrina said after a while. "I found out. I probably should have just let you deal with it yourself, but I thought if I tried to make it better or you again, you might forgive me. I guess I was wrong. On both counts. I mean, why should you forgive me? I did nothing you need to forive me for. This time, anyway."

"Well, whoopty-doo for you." Daphne sneered.

"And you're still angry." Sabrina said. "I'm trying to be the good sister here, and this is the thanks I get. Well, I'm done. You're on your own."

They were silent for a time.

"What if I told you I was being stupid?" Daphne asked suddenly. "And that your little speech showed me?"

"I'd say I owed you one." Sabrina said. "For the kazoo thing."

"You were pretty wrong there." Daphne said. "What exactly _was_ up with mom?"

"I think she should tell you that." Sabrina said. "It's pretty big news, and it's not for me to share."

"Fine." Daphne sighed.

"Friends again?" Sabrina asked.

"More." Daphne said. "Sisters."

Sabrina smiled and put out her hand. "Sisters."

They shook hands, and as they did, sparks flew from their intertwined fingers. Sabrina and Daphne both gasped, and suddenly, flesh-colored swirls grew out from their hands across their skin, shifting and moving and changing constantly, forming patterns and symbols that shifted with every second as the sparks contiued to fly, making little popping noises. The other members of the family came into the room at the sound and stayed, watching in shock and awe.

After about fifteen minutes of the shifting of the colors, Sabrina and Daphne were left, gasping, their proper colors again, with a few changes. Sabrina's wings were still black, and Daphne had a fat white streak running through her hair. They both still had the circles and arrows on their faces.

"That was a sight." Granny said. "What happened?"

"Daphne and I were... ending an argument, and we shook hands, and then we started sparking and changing color." Sabrina said, clutching at her head and sitting on the bed with a thunk.

"Oh, good." Daphne said, looking at herself. "It was so weird being all white."

They all laughed, and most of them headed down to dinner, glad that things were normal again.


	44. Christmas

**AN~ ****_Cammycrazygirl_: You, my friend, have earned yourself a review reply. Congratulations. It takes quite an anonymous review to do that nowadays. Especially because you reviewed like, all my stories after you read this one. I won't really reply to those because of lack-of-updates-on-completed-stores and all, but... Don't suppose you'd consider getting an account? Now, responses: ****Sorry, this is a fairly epic-length story, and they don't get together 'til almost the very end. ****Also, what does Idc mean? ****And I _like _really long reviews. The longer, the better! Especially if they contain constructive criticism.**

* * *

Sabrina was bombarded at school the next day, which didn't help her dizziness. Everyone seemed to want to find out something about her powers: where they had come from, what they were, why she hadn't told anyone about them. Daphne, too, was pestered with questions about her own abilities. The Scarlet Hand members, though, already seemed to know the answers.

That scared Sabrina. How had they found out? No one had been in the room that they couldn't trust any time she'd talked about Daphne being an everafter. And why did it seem like the known Scarlet Hand members were the ones starting all the rumors? Could they have a spy?

Many of her teachers questioned her, too, so it was a relief to walk into gym and to hear, "Leave the girl alone, people! You have lunch to talk, and we have work to do!"

"I love him." Sabrina said, smiling as the crowd dispersed.

"Why?" Daphne asked, wrinkling her nose. "He's so... loud."

"Like you aren't." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Well, not _loud_ exactly, but... tough. Angry. Mean."

"He's exactly what I want to be when I grow up." Sabrina said. "Minus how he looks and the fact that he's in the Scarlet Hand."

"But he's all drill-sargeant-ey!" Daphne protested, going ot grab a pinny.

"Exactly." Sabrina said. "He's getting us in shape so that we can train next marking period."

Daphne rolled her eyes, and the two girls separated, heading for their respective teams to play the game of the day- as Bella had started calling them.

* * *

That marking period passed almost as quickly as the last one- at least until they reached mid-marking period and Christmas. The kids studied all the time, and the study group had grown to about fifty or so kids and teens on a good day. Sabrina and Daphne were both so exhausted that they made almost no progress magically, though they did try to fit it into their schedules. Baba Yaga had begun testing Daphne at least once a week to discover what her latent abilities were- if any, Thumbelina and Sabrina met up on Sunday afternoons to talk, and Uncle Jake was helping the duo figure out the workings of the sword.

One day, while they were doing this, Uncle Jake looked at the two swords thoughtfully, sitting on the table, innocent-looking and wooden.

"Why do they have your initials on them, I wonder." He said thoughtfully. "I mean, a simple dot would most likely do, if it's just for the two of you."

"It's not." Daphne said. "There will be more."

"Back up." Uncle Jake said. "You can't just spurt off facts about the future without explaining!"

Daphne shrugged. "I don't really have an explanation. It just sort of happens."

"You got anything for me, 'Brina?" Uncle Jake asked.

Sabrina shrugged, looking through the diminished, but still present black ring around her vision at the swords. "It's had a lot of owners. I'm getting... overlapping memories."

"Say what?" Uncle Jake asked.

Sabrina shrugged again, and leaned on the table, hiding the latest of her dizzy spells. They were getting better, but she still felt like the world was spinning sometimes.

"I've told you, it's less like a vision and more like a memory, what I do." She said. "And I'm getting flashes that overlap. Like, two scenes at the same time. Like, exactly the same time. I don't think Daphne and I have two swords. I think we have the same sword in two different spots."

Daphne nodded. "That would make sense, since I see it splitting."

"So... how do we make it split?" Uncle Jake asked. "How did you two make it split, to start with?"

"We, like-" Daphne started, grabbing her sword.

"Recreate it with me." Uncle Jake said. "Do the same thing, only instead of doing it with Sabrina, do it with me."

"All right." Daphne said. "Grab the sword handle below where I have it." Uncle Jake did so. "And Sabrina and I just sort of... pulled in opposite directions!"

As Daphne was saying that, she and Uncle Jake did so, and, miraculously, though neither of them let go, they both came away holding the swords, identical except for the paint-and-sharpie on the edge of the handle. Uncle Jake's was inscribed with a J inside of a white circle.

"Amazing!" He cried, examining his sword. He ran his thumb around the paint dab, and the sword morphed into a simple, long sword with a large moonstone in the hilt. "Absolutely astounding! We should see how many times we can get it to split!"

They did so, and the whole family ended up equipped with their own swords. Henry's was different than the others- it had a black dot of paint with and h inscribed in what looked like white-out, and it transformed into a sword with an onyx stone in the hilt. Red's sword had a ruby in the hilt, Granny's had a stone in the hilt that she called purple chalcedony, which seemed almost to glow, Veronica's stone was orange, something Granny identified as a fire opal. Puck's stone was jade, a nice, soft color, and Bella's was tiger's eye, which, when in paint-format simply looked like a brown dot on browner wood.

Uncle Jake had insisted on trying the sword trick out on Briar, and, to no one's surprise, it had worked. She ended up with a sword of her own with a pink pearl the size of her fist in the hilt. However, when they attempted to do the same thing for Snow, nothing happened except that she lost her grip and fell in the dirt, which no one understood.

"Bet you have to be family for it to work." Baba Yaga croaked cheerfully.

"You try, then." Daphne said, offering the sword to her.

"Child, since when am I family?" Baba Yaga asked.

"Since I say so." Daphne said, stubbornly holding out the sword. "Try."

Baba Yaga sighed, but grabbed the sword and pulled weakly. After a flash of light, the two were holding separate swords, to Baba Yaga's shock. She ran her finger over the hilt, which was gray, and cackled when the sword transformed into a simple sword with a hematite stone in the hilt.

"I guess if you do our chores, you're part of our family." Sabrina shrugged.

"Briar doesn't." Daphne said.

Sabrina gave Uncle Jake a look, and he blushed furiously.

* * *

They were busy with other things, too. The search for Veronica's youngest child was under way, though they'd made little progress. Mr. Clay began training Red in meditation to restore her memory, and the other family members joined him occasionally. He, too had been given a sword, his with an aquamarine stone in the hilt. Red was beginning to remember things, but all she had acomplished so far was a memory of two different sets of eyes, which did them no good.

In that manner, Christmas arrived before Sabrina was expecting it, and she found herself with one week until Christmas and no presents for anyone. To top it of, she had a lot more people to buy for than she was used to, and very few funds.

"I have no idea what to buy anyone!" She complained to Daphne one day in their room

Daphne. who was spread out on the floor with a mess of crafts, shrugged, "Make presents, then! Granny and Mom would love that!"

"That's so... cheap, though." Sabrina said. "And I don't want to do that with my friends. Family it's all right for."

"Do you have money?" Daphne asked.

"Maybe five bucks." Sabrina said. "Which is the other problem."

"So... give them presents you can't wrap!" Daphne said. "Or give them your own stuff."

"That may have to work." Sabrina sighed. "Unless you know where I can find a lot of money by tomorrow. Or Thursday."

Daphne shook her head. "Nope. Can you go bother someone else? I'm trying to make presents here."

"Got enough crafts for me?" Sabrina asked with a sigh, after a short break.

"Help yourself." Daphne said. Sabrina sat down on the floor next to her, and the two spent the afternoon crafting.

Sabrina took Daphne's advice, making personalized Christmas cards for most of her friends instead of presents, and decorated three mus, one each for Granny and her parents. She wasn't sure what to get Briar, Snow, Mr. Clay, Puck, Red, Bella, Daphne, or Uncle Jake for Christmas, though. Cards didn't seem quite right, and she had no money for actual presents.

She decided to do a survey and see who wanted what.

"I don't want anything." Puck told her when she asked. "Unless you want to make me a mix of my favorite music or something. I'm too lazy."

"Let me give you a makeover- please?" Bella begged. "You need one. Badly."

"I'd like some new art supplies." Red said quietly. "I'm down to some crayon stubs."

"Your uncle is the only one who can give me what I really want." Briar sighed quietly.

"Child, I have lived through so many Christmases I don't want anymore presents." Mr. Canis said.

Snow told her, "I'd like a white Christmas. Can you manage that?"

"Briar." Uncle Jake had said dreamily.

"I want some space. Or someone to treat me like an adult." Daphne said.

Sabrina, thus informed, began to formulate a plan that would give everyone what they wanted, spending her five dollars on colored pencils for Red.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to give Baba Yaga or Charming a present. She decided, eventually, that she might as well ask them what they wanted. If she couldn't give it to them, then they just wouldn't get anything.

"Warmth." Was Charming's vehement answer, which provided Sabrina with a conundrum.

Baba Yaga had seemed shocked by Sabrina's question. "I don't believe anyone's ever asked me that before, child. I suppose... I'd like some chocolate."

"Chocolate?" Sabrina asked, hiding her surprise with a smile. "I think I can do that."

Christmas arrived in a bustle of joy and laughter, with time off from school and another ban on homework, which Sabrina took much more gracefully than she had the first time.

"How's your present situation coming out?" Daphne asked on the twenty-third.

"I need some help." Sabrina said. "I don't know how to make a CD mix, for one thing, and I also need to figure out how to give Snow a white Christmas and Charming warmth outside. It'd be so much easier if they weren't in the same place."

"I can show you how to make the CD." Daphne said brightly. "Can you make the snow warm?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I tried. It melted. Or stayed cold. Baba Yaga said it went against its chemical makeup or something."

"And they're in the same place?" Daphne asked. "Have you been to the fort recently?"

"Not for about a month, why?"

"Snow set up a new system where they built a lot of the barracks into the wall around the fort." Daphne said. "She's living in one of them."

"Do they have windows outside?" Sabrina asked.

Daphne nodded brightly.

A slow grin formed itself on Sabrina's face. "I can make it snow everywhere but in the fort!" She exclaimed. "It'll be warm and sunny inside, but cold and snowy outside! Daphne, you're a genius!"

"I know." Daphne smiled as Sabrina hugged her.

Before Sabrina knew it, it was Christmas morning. She spent the day at home, opening presents and enjoying the feeling of peace and joy that permeated the house.

She gave Bella a bunch of paper coupons which allowed her to control what Sabrina wore for the day, and Bella decided that her present to Sabrina would be to give her one of the makeovers that day. Daphne gave her one of the numerous crafts, a small mug with a picture inside it. From Red she got a pretty picture of the whole household entitled 'My Family,' which made Sabrina feel all warm and mushy inside, a way she hadn't allowed herself to feel in over two years.

Her parents gave her a laptop- nothing else, not that Sabrina minded. Laptops were expensive, and she hadn't gotten any presents from them in so long, she didn't care what they gave her. Granny, on the other hand, showered her with clothes and games, as usual. Uncle Jake and Briar gave her a joint gift of a fat but pretty ring with her name written on it. Baba Yaga gave her an old rusty key with no explanation.

Puck, much to everyone's surprise, gave Sabrina a very pretty necklace with a heart-shaped ying-yang charm in blue and green.

"Thanks, Puck." Sabrina smiled, flushing a little.

Puck, a much darker shad of red, mumbled something that might have been 'You're welcome,' and left the room quickly, taking his presents with him.

Sabrina decided it was time to enact her plan to give Briar, who was visiting, Daphne, and Uncle Jake all their Christmas presents.

"Daphne." She said. "Can you come here? I need your help with something."

"Sure." Daphne got up and followed Sabrina out of the room. "What is it?"

Sabrina leaned in to Daphne's ear and whispered, "Uncle Jake wants to ask Briar to marry him, and he has the ring in his coat pocket, but he hasn't asked, and Briar's getting impatient and so am I and it's time for him to ask her already!"

"_What_?" Daphne yelped. "How long have you known about ths?"

"Sunce summer." Sabrina said.

"And you didn't _tell_ me?" Daphne asked.

"_I_ can keep secrets." Sabrina said loftily. "Besides, Uncle Jake asked me not to. But he still hasn't done anything, so I've decided to make him do it."

"How?" Daphne asked.

"You're going to ask him for something from his coat. He's not wearing it now, so make sure it's something he has in there, and go look for it. He doesn't think you know, so fake surprise when you find it - third row, fifth column, by the way- and carry it back in. I'd do it, but he'd suspect something."

"Right." Daphne grinned.

The two girls re-entered the living room

"What was that about?" Veronica asked.

"Just giving Daphne her present." Sabrina said nonchalantly, sitting back down and fiddling with her necklace. "Where'd Puck go, do you know?"

"Uncle Jake, have you seen the magic snuffbox?" Daphne asked.

Granny, ignoring Daphne, replied to Sabrina, "Probably to his bedroom. Why?"

"It's in my coat." Uncle Jake replied to Daphne, not looking away from Briar. "You can go get it if you need it."

"She probably wants to give him a more private thank you for the present." Bella said meaningfully, glancing at Sabrina, who blushed.

Daphne left as Sabrina snapped, "It's not like that!"

Right." Bella grinned. "I saw the shape of that necklace. Gonna give him _his_ present in private, too?"

Sabrina glared at Bella. "I gave him his present already, actually. And stop suggesting that we're going out. We're not, we never have been, and we never will be."

"Des _he_ know that?" Bella asked as Daphne came back in.

"Uncle Jake?" Daphne asked, holding up the box for everyone to see. "What's this?"

"_Gyeunghagive_ _me that_!" Uncle Jake cried, leaping up and reaching for the box.

"What is it, Jake?" Briar asked.

"...Uh..." Jake said, stalling.

Puck poked his head into the room. "What was that noise? It sounded like someone died."

"Uncle Jake had a spaz attack." Sabrina said. "Apparently he doesn't want us to know what's in the box." She nodded to the black velvet box that Uncle Jake was now taking posession of.

"So what's in there?" Puck asked.

"That's what I'd like to know." Bella said.

Sabrina smiled knowingly.

"Tell us, Jake?" Granny asked. "We're all dying to know, and after a reaction like that-"

Uncle Jake sighed. "I'd meant to wait for a more romantic moment to do this- after I'd known you longer-" He got down on one knee in front of Briar- "But I suppose the cat's out of the bag. Briar Rose, will you marry me?"

Briar gasped. "Of course I will! I've been waiting for you to ask since- since June, at least!"

Uncle Jake smiled dryly, slipping the ring onto her finger. "Funny. I bought the ring in June."

The family laughed and then clapped as Uncle Jake pulled Briar up and into a passionate kiss.


	45. Bella's Confusion

**AN~ The Bella/Wendell scene was inspired by locklore from deviantart. If you want to see the inspirational image, go to deviantart and search 'sisters grimm cookie'.**

**Whoa. I've been getting some pretty epic anonymous reviews, guys. They all merit responses.**

**_Puckabrina:_ Sorry. Not for a while. Give it time. Maybe if I get a boyfriend, I'll be inspired to make them get together sooner. Maybe you could give me constructive criticism anyway? Thanks for proof you read the ANs, by the way.**

**_Cammycrazygirl:_ I figured that out. Like, right after I posted the chapter. I was like, 'Oh. Duh.' I love Briar. But if you want her alive, you need to have an AU story. That's like, my rule.**

**_StarRose:_ I'm glad you like it. You made me very happy there. I'll try to update fast. It's just, it's senior year, and I'm swamped. And next month is NaNoWriMo, so I'l be dead to the world then. Also, you have no idea how much I'm actually condensing the school stuff. I went through a month last chapter. And another one here. I know I'm focusing on school too much, but I love this school. It's my bacby. I'll try to make it more plot-focused, though. (By the way, we are nowhere NEAR all the way through. We still have another year before the actual war breaks out!)**

* * *

"So when's the wedding?" Peaseblossom asked during study group, once they were back in school.

"Dunno." Sabrina said. "I don't think it'll be for a while. Briar's godmothers are a little... overprotective."

"That's true." Puck called from the kitchen. "Hey, Grimm, the Old Lady made cookies! Want some?"

"For real?" Sabrina asked. "Cookies? Sweet!"

She, along with the rest of the study group, headed for the kitchen in a rush. There was a scramble to get at the cookie jar for some time, until most people had gotten at least one cookie, when Wendell grabbed the jar and hauled it away.

"Come _on_, Wendell." Daphne whined. "Some of us haven't had any yet."

"Actually, you've had two already." Puck said. "Ignoring that, though, Wendell, you really don't need to be eating the whole jar. Like, at all."

"Ouch, that was harsh." Sabrina said. "Please, Wendell? Even if Daphne had some already, I haven't."

Wendell, with half a cookie hanging out of his mouth, shook his head stubbornly.

Bella sighed. "This calls for drastic measures. Come on, guys."

"So, what's your plan?" Daphne asked.

Bella shook her head, her finger on her lips. "You'll see." She smiled.

Sabrina tugged Daphne and Puck through the doorway. Bella followed for a time, and Wendell seemed to relax. However, halfway to the door, Bella turned around and returned to Wendell. She walked towards him slowly, the oddest look on her face. Wendell, nervous, backed up until he bumped into the table as Bella kept approaching. Finally, she ended up less than three inches away from his face.

Daphne squeaked quietly, and Sabrina shushed her absently, watching Bella.

Wendell stared at Bella as she leaned forward carefully, turning her head to the side a little. Finally, when their noses were almost touching, she jerked away quickly. Shocked, Wendell dropped the cookie jar- directly into Bella's waiting hands.

Bella, with half of Wendell's cookie shoved into her mouth, walked away, her hips swinging, as the study group laughed and congratulated her.

"I'm gonna get your for that!" Wendell threatened, watching her retreating hips.

"Nice one." Sabrina said, reaching into the cookie jar. "Aw, Wendell!" She complained. "There's only like, three left! Why'd you make such a fuss? I hadn't had any yet!"

"Who else hasn't had any?" Bella asked, putting the jar on the coffee table. "And be honest, please."

"I didn't." Red said quietly. "But that's it."

"We'll each take one, then." Sabrina said. "Granny can always make more."

"Exactly!" Wendell complained, entering the living room. "That's why I wanted the rest!" He walked over to Bella, wearing an uncharacteristic leer.

Now it was Bella's turn to back up. She did so, saying nervously, "Now, Wendell, let's not get violent. It was only a cookie!"

Wendell said nothing, simply backing Bella against the coffee table and kissing her smack on the lips.

"Ew!" Puck groaned. "Get a room, guys!"

Most of the rest of the study group, however, was wolf-whistling, cheering, clapping, or saying '_Aw_!'

When Wendell broke off the kiss, Bella stared at him for a minute, her face turning redder and redder, then she ran off without saying a word.

"Bella, wait!" Wendell called, but the only response was the slamming of Bella's bedroom door.

"Crud." Wendell muttered, his face turning as red as Bella's had been.

"Hey, you tried, buddy." Peter clapped him on the shoulder, and the study group settled back down to its normal routine, minus Bella.

The normal routine, however, couldn't continue correctly, because it was made up of several kep components: the people who needed help with math went to Puck; history, Peaseblossom; French- or any other language- Daphne; English, Alice; gym, Sabrina; and Science tutorees went to Bella. However, with Bella in her room, those people had no one to turn to for help.

"Sabrina!" Jane, who had become the organizational person for the group, came up to her, looking frazzled. "Do you know anyone else that's good at science? I've got, like, twenty people who need help, and I'm no good at it, and anyway, I have homework of my own to do!"

"Why don't you just ask if anyone's good at science?" Sabrina asked. "You're more in charge than I am!"

"I organize." Jane said. "But you're in charge. Who's good at science?"

"Ummm... Wendell!" Sabrina called.

"What?" Wendell poked his head up from the group around Peaseblossom.

"You're in charge of sciece today, because Bella's not here and, as far as I can tell, it's your fault." Sabrina said. "Besides, you're pretty good at it."

Wendell made a face, but didn't complain, sighing and turning to the group that had been following Jane. "All right, guys. I'm your substitute science tutor. Come on."

The kids followed Wendell away, and Sabrina returned to showing some of the lost boys the finer points of volleyball.

* * *

That evening, Sabrina knocked on the door to Bella's room. "Can I come in?" She asked.

"Sure." Bella mumbled from the other side of the door.

"I brought you some food." Sabrina said, pushing the door open. "Since you didn't come down for dinner."

"Not hungry." Bella mumbled into her pillow.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed. "I'll just leave it on your bedside table, then. In case you get hungry later."

"Fine, I'll eat it." Bella said, sitting up and taking the plate from Sabrina, who hadn't made a move to actually put it down. "Who cooked tonight?"

"Mom." Sabrina said, watching as Bella ate. After a brief silence, she spoke up, "What was up earlier? With Wendell?"

Bella groaned. "I don't know!"

"I thought you liked him!" Sabrina said. "But then when... well... you ran away!" She was struck with a strong sense of deja vu.

"I do like him!" Bella protested. "I do! It's just..."

"Just what?" Sabrina prompted, when it was clear Bella wasn't going to continue on her own.

"It was unexpected." Bella sighed, her dinner forgotten. "And in front of all those people! It was embarassing, especially losing control of the situation like that. So I ran, because I was mortified, and I didn't want to do anything in front of all those people. And after I ran, I couldn't come back down, and I couldn't call Wendell up here and..."

There was another silence while Bella thought, then Sabrina said, "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't_ know!" _Bella wailed. "And there's nobody I can talk to about it, either!"

"You're talking to me." Sabrina pointed out, a little amused.

"I mean, somone who knows about relationships! No offense, Sabrina, but you've never had a boyfriend or anything, so..."

"I get it." Sabrina smiled a little sadly, thinking of Puck. If he asked... But no. She didn't want to be tied down. Besides, they were talking about Bella now. "What about Granny?"

"She's only ever been with your grandpa, hasn't she? And I don't think he up and kissed her in front of all her friends before even telling her if he liked her or not!" Bella made a face. "Not particularly useful."

"True." Sabrina said. "Well, at least you can vent to me. Maybe we can come up with some ideas for what you should do."

"I think I'll just hope he says something." Bella said. "He might not have meant it."

"You don't want to talk about it, do you?" Sabrin accused.

Bella shook her head, shamefaced. "I've thought about it enough. I don't think you can change my mind."

"Fine." Sabrina snapped. "Refuse my comfort/assistance/thing."

"Don't be like that!" Bella said. "You helped, really you did! I just don't want to talk about it anymore. It's embarassing."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Sabrina asked, smiling a little.

"You." Bella said. "Your love life. I've been monopolizing our boy-conversations for long enough."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Sabrina said, raising her hands. "Back up. Who said I wanted to talk about boys?"

"You did." Bella said. When Sabrina started to protest, she continued. "Not out loud, but everyone wants to talk about their crush. And I can see it in your face sometimes."

Sabrina blushed. "Well, yeah, I have one, but what if I don't want to talk?"

"You want to." Bella said. "Besides, I want to hear it. You know everything about my crush! Now tell me about yours!"

Sabrina sighed, but gave in. "Do you even know who it is?" She asked.

"I can guess." Bella said. "Puck?"

"Why does everyone think that?" Sabrina asked, "Am I that easy to see through?"

"Is that a yes?" Bella asked.

Sabrina nodded, blushing bright red. "_Please_ don't tell him."

"Are you going to?" Bella asked.

"Not planning on it." Sabrina said. "That'd be so awkward."

"So when did you start liking him?" Bella asked, sitting up and grabbing her fork.

"Start liking him or know I liked him?" Sabrina asked.

"Both." Bella said, spearing a piece of chicken and biting into it.

"I knew I liked him on the first day of school." Sabrina said. "When I came back from talking with Momma and was all awkward around Puck? That was when. I think I actually started liking him the first day he came to school last year."

"Last year?" Bella asked. "You are so clueless!"

"Well, it wasn't like he made it easy!" Sabrina said. "He was so annoying, and then we were friends and-"

"I get it." Bella smiled. "It's just funny, is all."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at Bella. "You don't think Wendell's funny."

"I wasn't in denial with Wendell for a year." Bella said. "Maybe a week. But that's it. Has anything happened between you two?"

"I'm leaving now." Sabrina said loftily. "I have better things to talk about than this."

"Aw, come on, spill!" Bella called after Sabrina, who left for her bedroom without saying another word.

* * *

The rest of the marking period passed with no progress between Bella and Wendell. They, as Bella had suggested, both waited for the other to bring up the subject, and, as a result, ended up not speaking to each other at all, though their friends often caught them giving each other longing looks- missed by each other, unfortunately.

"This is so stupid!" Puck complained one day. "We all know they like each other, why don't they know it?"

"Ask yourself that." Red told him, looking at Sabrina.

"That is a completely different matter." Puck told Red. "We're talking about Wendell and Bella being thickheaded right now."

"Can't we just _make_ them tell each other?" Daphne asked.

"No." Sabrina said. "We shouldn't interfere."

"We interfered with Uncle Jake and Briar." Daphne pointed out.

"That was different." Sabrina said.

"How?" Daphne asked.

"They were already together." Red said. "And I think Sabrina's afraid if you do that to them, you'll do it to her."

"Bella and Wendell, remember, Red?" Sabrina said tightly. "We're not talking about me or Puck now."

"Right." Red smiled. "So, are we going to do anything?"

"Hope." Sabrina said. "Let them work it out on their own. It's none of our business, no matter how infuriating it is."

The marking period moved on, and by the time it was over, though Bella and Wendell weren't together yet, the students were accomplished in other areas. Sabrina, Puck, Bella, and Wendell were all through ninth grade English, through the Great Depression in U.S. history, and significantly through world history, which they were expected to be done with by the end of the year, as were most of the other students who looked their age in the school. Daphne and Red, as well as the others their age, were through sixth grade English, and at the same level of history. Puck was even further along in math, and Bella was progressing rapidly in science, pulling Puck along behind her.

And so they slipped into the third marking period, which was shaping up to be utterly different.

"I'm cutting your study hall." Snow White told them.

"What?" Sabrina yelped. "I need that!"

"You'll be fine. You're all progressing far faster than I expected. But I think you need a broader scope. I can either double up on your English class, or we can see about putting in some electives." Snow said. "It's not just you, I'm cutting all the study halls. We have enough certified teachers, we don't need you taking them, and half the students aren't using them."

"Stupid people ruining it for the rest of us." Puck muttered.

"You were the one shooting spitballs at Toby and Natalie yesterday." Red pointed out.

"Moving past that." Snow said, "I've brought you all here because you're my most hardworking students. I was wondering if any of you would like to sponsor a class during the study halls?"

"Like what?" Daphne asked.

"Art, or music, or another language, or anythign that can be taught, really." Snow said. "Maybe a home economics class."

"Red could teach art!" Daphne said. "She's really good at it!"

Red blushed. "I don't think I could do that. I get all tense when I talk in front of people."

"What if we had an adult with you?" Snow asked. "They could teach, and you'd be a teacher's helper of sorts."

Red nodded. "All right. But I'd like to learn, too. Can we have that happen?"

"I'm sure we can work that out." Snow smiled. "Any other class ideas?"

"Music." Sabrina said. "Wendell."

"What?" Wendell asked. "No way!"

"I think it's a good idea." Snow said. "We can give you an adult supervisor, too. I don't think you dad has a class that period. That's two out of nine, people!"

"I could teach cooking, I guess." Peaseblossom offered. "And my husband could do finances a different period."

"There we go." Snow said. "We need at least four more, people!"

"How about sewing?" Daphne suggested. "Not me, but maybe an adult?"

"Goldie could do that thing she's always talking about!" Puck said. "Sheng fwee or whatever!"

Jane piped up, "A woodcraft class. Peter could teach it. Or Robin Hood."

"I love volunteering people who aren't here to complain." Sabrina smiled.

Alice grinned at Sabrina, then turned to Snow. "I'll teach one, I guess."

"On what?" Snow asked.

Alice shrugged. "Chess, maybe."

"Can we have a class on chess?" Daphne asked.

"Why not?" Peaseblossom said. "We _are_ in a specialty shcool, after all."

"Aw!" Daphne whined. "I could have done one on making up words!"

"You'll know for next time, then." Sabrina said. "I'm in Wendell's class, then?" She asked Snow.

Snow nodded. "I'll make an announcement tomorrow morning before school starts."

"That'll go over well." Puck snorted.


	46. Flowers and Elvis

**AN~ End of chapter = famous last words.**

* * *

"Long-range weapons." The Beast said, slamming a pointer against the white board. "Either heavy weaponry or personal. Can anyone tell me the benefits?"

There was no response from the students, all of whom were sitting in the chairs they had been in for health, confused. They hadn't expected the important part of gym class to involve learning about weapons. They'd expected to be fighting.

Finally, Daphne raised a tentative hand. "You can stay out of the way of close-range weapons?"

"Right." The Beast said. "Anything else?"

"You can hide." Red said quietly.

"Good! Now what about the disadvantages?"

There was utter silence.

"You never know when the enemy's coming, or what forces they have." Sabrina spoke up, looking bored. "And you don't know how they are. Sometimes you don't even know if you hit them. It's good for secrecy, but it gives the other side some secrecy, too, especially with the big guns."

"Exactly." The Beast gave Sabrina an approving look. "Your enemy may not see you, but you also can't see your enemy as well. You trade safety for accuracy. How many of the long-range weapons can you name?" He pointed at the students one at a time, moving across the room.

"Tank." Toby said immediately.

"Catapult." Bella added.

"There's that thing that's like a catapult but not..." Natalie said. "A treb-you-shay, or something..."

"Cannon!" Peter Pan chimed in.

"A bunch of different handheld guns." Puck grinned.

"Longbow." Moth smiled.

"Crossbow." Mustardseed said.

"Recurve." Sabrina challenged.

"Slingshot!" Daphne called.

"Sling." Red added.

"There's a difference?" Daphne asked.

Red nodded.

"Keep it coming, people!" The Beast roared, and continued to point at students, faster and faster.

"Nunchucks." Jonas said, directing his comment at Art.

"Throwing stars." Art responded in kind.

"Throwing knives." Tim said, rolling back in his wheelchair.

"Sticks?" Jane shrugged.

"Rocks." Wendell said.

"Spears." Hansel said.

"Axes!" Gretel responded to her brother.

"Darts." Little Boy Blue said.

"Peashooter." Ariel said. "Or blowgun."

"That's enough." The Beast finally said, putting his hand down. "I think we've covered just about everything. In case you weren't aware, we've started your official training now."

Moth raised a hand, "What exactly will we be doing, sir?" She asked.

Sabrina winced. Everyone knew better than to ask him a question like that.

"You are a _soldier_, now girl!" The Beast roared. "You take orders and don't question! Your job is to learn, and to obey! Not to ask questions like that!"

"Sir?" Puck called. "You asked us if we had any questions, earlier."

Sarina slapped a hand to her face. Was the whole world being taken over by stupid today?

"That's different." The Beast told Puck, remaining calm with a visible effort. "When I ask if you have questions, it means I need to make sure you understand. Then I expect you to ask smart questions. Not, 'why?' Now, I'll tell you what we're doing for the marking period soon, impatient one."

"Idiot." Sabrina told Puck under her breath.

"What we are doing," The Beast continued, "Is beginning a study of weapons. You may have noticed that there are several large weapons here today. Today is the big guns, tomorrow handheld long-range, then we'll have two days of short-range weaponry. Friday is poisons. You'll learn the basics of how to use them this week and next week, then the week after that we start fighting. We'll go from one-on-one to ten-on-ten. All those fighting patterns work differently, and you'll have to learn how to think for each of them, but after ten, they all work about the same way. I'll group you together sometimes, and others you can pick your own teams. If things go well enough, you may be able to start unevenly sized groups this year."

"Sweet." Sabrina grinned. "This is going to be awesome."

"Whatever." Moth yawned. "What about magical weapons?"

"Magic adds a new dimension." The Beast said. "Once you get the basics down, then maybe next year we can move on to magical attacks and forts and transportation besides feet. If you pass, that is."

Sabrina grinned. "I love this class."

"You've mentioned." Daphne said. "I want to use magic!"

"You always want to use magic." Sabrina said. "And you say I'm addicted."

"Let's get a move on, people!" The Beast interrupted. "You learn how these things work now, or get killed by them in the field! Go!"

Daphne got up, and Sabrina followed her, but as she walked behind her sister, she stopped.

"Puck?" She called. "Come look at this."

Puck came over and blinked several times when he saw what Sabrina was pointing at. "Whoa. That's weird."

"What's up?" Daphne asked, turning around.

"Daph?" Sabrina said, "You're shedding flowers."

"Well... growing, actually." Puck said. "Did you run into something magical recently?"

"No..." Daphne said slowly. "What are you-" She looked down. "Oh."

There was a trail of plants growing from the boards in the shape of Daphne's feet.

"I think you just got a superpower." Red said. "This is how Sabrina started out a lot."

Daphne's face creased. "I think I need to sit down." She said quietly.

Three seconds later, she collapsed, and the commotion brought the Beast over.

"What's all this?" He asked.

"Daphne has a superpower." Bella said. "And it like, drained her or something, because she fell down and maybe fainted."

"How are you feeling?" The Beast asked Daphne, squatting down next to her.

Daphne, who was leaning on Art, who'd caught her as she fell, said, "Dizzy. Kind of tired. I'm not sure I can participate today."

"I think she should go home." Sabrina said worriedly. "You don't look so good, Daph."

"I'll send you down to Nurse Spratt." The Beast said. "Can you make it by yourself?"

"I... don't know." Daphne said quietly, attempting to stand. Art held her up as she fell again.

"I'll go with her." Tim said. "I wouldn't be much use with these things anyway."

The two left, Daphne leaning on Tim, and The Beast roared, "We haven't got all day, people! Get a move on!"

"I think Daphne's quite the popular girl." Bella said, watching Art, who looked both worried and irritated.

Sabrina passed a hand over her eyes, rubbing her scar in passing. "Please no. She's too young for boys. And they're both teenagers."

"Technically, Tim's several hundred years old, and Art's around four thousand. But age doesn't matter so much when you're an everafter." Red said quietly.

"Wonderful." Sabrina said dryly. "My sister's going to get a boyfriend before I do."

"You don't know that." Jane said supportively.

"Yes I do." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "She's eight and has two boys crushing on her. I'm twelve and have zero."

Red smiled at Puck, who was blushing, and said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Before Sabrina could ask Red what she meant, The Beast called their attention back to the catapult.

* * *

"I wonder why it took Daphne so long to have anything happen." Sabrina said. "I mean, it took me a while, too. Why do you think that is?"

Baba Yaga cackled. "Probably has something to do with the changes starting inside."

"So has anything else happened?" Bella asked.

"She's asleep." Veronica said. "But I had to change the sheets and blankets several times. She kept making the cotton ones sprout."

"Did she ruin the blue ones?" Sabrina asked. When Veronica nodded to a pile of cloth by the door to the laundry room, Sabrina groaned. "I liked those!"

"She'll have to learn control, or she'll never be able to go anywhere."

"Someone else can teach her." Sabrina said. "I'm not going to."

"But why now?" Puck asked. "It took Sabrina ages more."

"It may have something to do with their seasonal orientations." Baba Yaga said thoughtfully.

"Our whats?" Sabrina asked.

"Seasonal orientations." Baba Yaga said. "Your favorite season sometimes effects your magical abilities. You developed most in the fall, so you're probably fall-oriented. Things are just starting to grow now, and with Daphne's abilities, I'd say she's a spring-oriented everafter."

"So does that play into other everafters?" Puck asked.

Baba Yaga said, "Some. If you were born an everafter, especially a fairy, your birth season will effect you more than anything. You're winter-born, aren't you?"

Puck nodded. "Mustardseed isn't, though."

"How does that work?" Red asked.

"Mom was below the equator for me and above it for Mustardseed. It was winter below, summer above. She was on the way back from visiting someplace or other." Puck explained.

"And that's rare?" Sabrina asked. "Fairies born in winter, I mean?"

"Yup." Puck said, popping the p. "We don't really do that whole plants and nurturing thing so much. A lot of mothers actually go out of their way to make sure their kids aren't born in winter. Mom was on a hurry on the way back, but I beat her to the punch."

"Always the obstinate one." Sabrina said, giving Puck a smile.

"I've heard it said that some fairies are meant to be born during a certain season, and events will work out so that they are, no matter how their parents try to fix things." Granny said, coming into the kitchen. "Daphne's awake now."

"How is she?" Sabrina asked anxiously.

"Tired." Granny said. "Elvis is with her."

"Elvis?" Red asked. "Why is he there?"

"He's keeping her warm." Granny said. "She's quite chilly."

"Can I go see her?" Sabrina asked.

"Go ahead." Granny gestured to the door.

Sabrina stood up, pushed her chair in, and headed upstairs for her bedroom.

"Hey." She said, slipping into the room. "How you doing?"

"Good." Daphne said, leaning forward to rub Elvis' ears. "Elvis is keeping me warm, aren't you, bud?"

Elvis barked in response.

"Holy bejeans!" Daphne screeched, jumping away from Elvis.

"What?" Sabrina asked, her worried expression matching Elvis'.

"I understood that, that's what!" Daphne screeched. "Elvis?"

Elvis barked again.

"Sabrina?" Daphne said shakily. "Can you get Granny? I think I can talk to animals..."

"Granny!" Sabrina called down the hall. "We have a new development!"

"What is it, liebling?" Granny asked, climbing the stairs quickly, followed by the rest of the family.

"She says she thinks she can understand animals... Elvis, at least." Sabrina said, leading the way back into her bedroom.

"Oh dear." Henry said. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can stand."

"We're becoming a minority here, Henry." Veronica said with a smile. "But at least our daughters will have a long life!"

"If we live that long." Sabrina said darkly, thinking of the impending war.

"You will." Puck grinned at her cockily. "I'm taking care of you, after all."

In the room, Daphne and Elvis were having an animated conversation, of which the watchers only understood half. It seemed that most of Elvis' conversations wasn't actually spoken out loud, but used body motions to convey meanings.

"They're... actually talking..." Bella said wonderingly.

"It's actually not that different." Red said. "They talked to each other all the time. It's just, now Daphne's getting a real translation, not just guessing."

"Which may be why her abilities have developed as such." Baba Yaga said. "She seems very animal-oriented, and plants and animals go hand in hand where magic is concerned."

"She should talk to Goldie." Sabrina said. "And we should find someone who knows plants. Unless you do." She directed the last part at Baba Yaga.

"I can teach her control." Baba Yaga said. "After that, I'll be about as much in the dark as I was with you."

"Who we aren't sure is done developing yet." Granny cut in.

"But we're talking about Daphne now." Sabrina said. "I know what to do if something else happens. I'm getting a feel for this stuff."

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here?" Daphne asked, turning away from Elvis suddenly.

"You weren't paying attention." Red answered. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Daphne said. "So... do you think it's just Elvis, or other animals, too?"

"I suppose the only way to know that would be to test it." Granny said thoughtfully.

"Are pixies animals?" Daphne asked.

"No." Puck snorted. "Why?"

Daphne sighed. "I was kind of hoping I'd be able to understand them now."

"You might actually be able to." Sabrina, who had begun to understand a few pixie phrases recently, said. "It's a language like any other, and you're good at languages."

"Really?" Daphne asked.

Veronica nodded. "I know a few words in it. It takes quite a bit of time to become fluent if you're not a fairy, though. Something about the syntax."

"The whosit?" Bella asked.

"The syntax." Veronica replied. "The way the language is structured."

"Thank you." Sabrina said. "I didn't know what that one meant."

"So can we test it out?" Daphne asked. "I wanna see if I can talk to other animals!"

"That involves finding animals." Red pointed out. "And bringing them here, because you can't get out of bed. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"We didn't make Sabrina wait until tomorrow when she was stuck to the ceiling!" Daphne protested.

"That was different" Sabrina said. "That was a control emergency, like you growing flowers out of the floor. This is like... training, and testing. It's not vital that you find out as soon as possible."

"Please?" Daphne asked. "I'll never ask you for anything else again, ever!"

"I doubt that," Sabrina said, "and it's early March and freezing out there."

"So pull your weather control bit and warm it up!" Daphne suggested.

"Do you know how much that messes with our ecosystem?" Sabrina asked.

"No." Daphne replied.

"Me either." Sabrina said. "But it's bad. And the more I do it, the more likely the whole town is to end up a desert or something."

"Party pooper." Daphne made a face.

"Unintended consequences, Daph." Sabrina replied serenely.

"Please, Uncle Jake?" Daphne asked, giving him Bambi eyes.

Uncle Jake took one look at her face, sighed, and said, "I'll go get my coat."

"I'll go with you." Granny said. "I can use the exercise."

"I've got to get started on my homework." Sabrina said.

Bella, Puck, and Red mumbled in agreement and followed her downstairs.

"We get to work on control, girl!" Baba Yaga cackled to Daphne.

Henry and Veronica looked at each other, slightly nervous.

"We should probably go." Veronica said. "Give them some privacy."

"In case she loses what little control she has." Henry agreed. "Stay close, though?"

Veronica nodded. "Just in case."

"_So_ glad that's not me anymore." Sabrina said, heading downstairs.

"How do you mean?" Bella asked.

"I don't have to worry about learning my way around my powers anymore." Sabrina said. "I'm pretty much done developing, according to Thumbelina, so I just have to master the specifics."

"Don't be so sure!" Red said in a sing-song manner.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sabrina turned with a snap.

"Daphne's been telling me what she sees." Red said. "You're nowhere near done yet."

"Great." Sabrina said dryly.

Puck pattered her on the back, and she stiffened slightly. "Relax, Grimm. You managed the rest of them fine. What could go wrong?"


	47. Astral Travel

**AN~ There's a poll on my profile about which powers Sabrina should keep.**

**_StarRoseJr:_ I actually have no idea what Elvis told Daphne. You can make it up, I guess. :) And thanks for the compliments! Although I think you should look up No Matter What before reviewing for me again.**

**_happyx234:_ thank you!**

**_V Machine on Paper:_ How come you're not logged in? I can't reply to you unless you're logged in. And just so you know, I'm not as good a mind reader as you think I am. I'm glad you liked it. What Puckabrina did I put in? I don't really remember... I'm glad you think I'm that good. :) Also, don't worry, it's not the END end, just the end of the chapter.**

**_StarRose:_ You and your sisters asked me the same question. I give you the same answer I gave her: I have no clue.**

**_CammyCrazyGirl:_ Do you have an account? If you don't, someone on here has a very similar name to you. I'm glad you think it's realistic and in character! I doubt MB will make her an everafter, though. Also, that scene was meant to be amusing.**

**_Violet Elizabeth Black:_ I don't think I'll do that. It's an interesting suggestion, and you could make an account and write that story and make it an entry to the Never Gonna Happen Challenge (not hyping myself or anything) and I would read it, but I pretty much have this story planned out, and Puck dying, whether or not he comes back, isn't in the plan. Sorry.**

* * *

_**Flashback: **"What could go wrong?" Puck asked._

Three weeks later, after Daphne had regained enough control that she could touch things without causing them to sprout leaves and flowers, they found out.

It was time to go to school, and Sabrina still wasn't downstairs. Granny was about to suggest that someone go make sure she was awake when there was a screech from upstairs.

The family ran to the source: behind Sabrina and Daphne's closed and locked door.

"Sabrina?" Daphne asked. "Was that you?"

"Yes." Sabrina's voice, despite coming from through the door, sounded remarkably close- and rather echoey. It was also obvious that she was crying.

"What's wrong, _liebling_?" Granny asked.

"I- I can't open the door." Sabrina said. "No... that's not right. I can't... touch the door."

"Why not?" Veronica asked. "Is there a spell on it or something? Did it hurt when you tried to touch it?"

"No. That's not it." Sabrina's voice was even more wobbly and frightened. "It's like-"

"Like what, Grimm?" Puck asked, pushing close to the door.

"I tried to touch it." Sabrina said. "I reached it just fine, but when I tried to grab it- I couldn't. I- I went _through_ the handle!"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, panicking slightly.

"I mean I tried to touch it and my fingers went through it like they weren't even there! Like I'm a ghost or something!" Sabrina screeched.

"That may be more correct than you think." Baba Yaga said.

"What?" Sabrina shrieked. "I'm not dead! I think I'd remember dying!"

"Calm down." Baba Yaga said testily. "Turn around Sabrina, and look at the bed."

"All right." Sabrina said.

There was silence.

"Sabrina?" Bella asked. "Are you looking?"

"Yes." If anything, Sabrina's voice sounded more frightened than before.

"And what do you see?" Red asked.

"Me." Sabrina said after a time. "Lying on the bed. I'm breathing, though."

Baba Yaga laughed maniacally. "Oh, this is rich! This is absolutely, positively, wonderful!"

"What is?" Jake asked, climbing down the stairs from his attic bedroom, having just woken up.

"She's an astral traveler!" Baba Yaga cackled. "Or, I think she is. Sabrina. This is going to sound odd, but I want you to walk through the door. Don't worry about running into it, just go."

"Right." Sabrina said, sounding determined.

A few seconds later, a wavery presence, mostly see-through, but vaguely resembling Sabrina, slid through the door and appeared on the other side.

"Holy-" Daphne exclaimed, leaping back. "How come Sabrina gets all the cool powers?"

"Excuse me?" Sabrina asked, folding her arms. "Who can talk to animals and grow flowers?"

"Well, I can't fly, and I can't walk through walls or leave my body behind or reverse gravity or-"

"I won't be keeping most of those powers, you know." Sabrina said. She might have rolled her eyes, but it was hard to tell. "I get the feeling you'll be keeping all of yours."

"All three of them." Daphne pouted.

"Moving on." Sabrina said, "How do I get back in my body?"

"I... don't actually know." Baba Yaga said.

Everyone glared at her for a minute.

"Well..." Granny spoke into the silence, "It might help if we could get into the room. Jake?"

"On it." Uncle Jake said, as everyone else, even Sabrina, stepped back.

He pulled out a wand, stepped to the door, and jiggled the wand in the keyhole for a few seconds. There was a brief sizzle, a shower of sparks, and then the door creaked open.

"Really need to oil that." Jake muttered, then stepped through.

The rest of the family, including Sabrina's spirit, followed after him. Most of them stopped, looking at Sabrina's body-apparently asleep, then at her spirit, which continued to float forward, stopping next to the bed.

"I wonder..." Baba Yaga said thoughtfully. "Can you use your powers when you aren't in your body?"

Sabrina thought, then tried. After several minutes where nothing much happened, she said, "No."

"Did you try all of them?" Daphne asked. "What about the time thing?"

"I don't like that one." Sabrina said. "It gives me a headache, and sometimes my vision blacks out."

"Suggesting it's related to your prophetic abilities." Baba Yaga said thoughtfully. "I doubt you'll go blind, Sabrina. Try it."

"Right. It works." Sabrina said.

"When did you test it?" Bella asked.

"Between right and it works." Sabrina said.

"She stopped time." Red said helpfully. "We couldn't tell, because we were stopped, too."

"Oh." Bella said, blushing. "Right."

"I wonder why they work and the other ones don't." Veronica mused.

"It might have something to do with the prophetic ability, like Baba Yaga suggested." Jake said. "If she got them at the same time, or as a result..."

"Am I the only one who's lost?" Henry asked.

"No, I am too." Puck assured him.

"Wonderful." Henry said. "I agree with you on something."

"Stop it, Dad." Sabrina said. "If I can get along with Puck, then so can you."

"Can we have an explanation?" Daphne asked.

"I think they think that since Sabrina got these powers after you two had the incident in the cave, that they're tied together somehow." Red supplied.

"Thank you." Bella said. "Whoa- guys, we're going to be late to school!"

"No you won't." Sabrina said. "Since I could still see and all."

"This is going to be remarkably convenient, isn't it?" Puck asked.

"Yes." Daphne said, and her eyes flashed oddly.

"How come you see more than Sabrina does?" Red asked.

"Probably because Sabrina knew how to control her powers already, and Daphne was all new. Sabrina's subconsciously controlling it." Veronica cut in.

"Most of us should go to school now." Granny said. "Jake, Baba Yaga, Sabrina, and I will stay here and try to reunite Sabrina with her body."

"Right." Sabrina said. "I'm rewinding you to five this morning. Get out of here fast, and don't wake anyone up! You don't want to meet yourselves."

The next second, Sabrina, Granny, Baba Yaga, and Uncle Jake were alone in the room.

"Sabrina, before we get to work, let's try something." Baba Yaga said. "I want you to talk to me, but don't move your mouth."

Sabrina, used to Baba Yaga's odd ideas, shrugged and said, "Is it working?" Without opening her mouth.

"I was right!" Baba Yaga exclaimed.

"About what?" Granny asked.

"Listen to her voice." Baba Yaga said. "She's speaking mind-to-mind. I thought so! Sabrina, can you hear me?"

"Umm..." Sabrina said, "Are you thinking at me or something? 'Cause I can't hear it. At all."

"It appears to be one-way, then." Baba Yaga said.

"Right." Uncle Jake said. "That's wonderfully interesting and all, but how do we get her back in her body?"

"That's more important." Sabrina said. "Once we figure that out, then you can test me any way you want, all right?"

"Have you tried simply touching your body?" Granny asked.

"No." Sabrina said, and her spirit- which was getting harder to see the brighter out it got, turned a pinkish color.

"I suggest you try it, then." Baba Yaga said.

Sabrina floated her way over to the bed, seemed to levitate a bit, until she was at a level with the top covers, then hesitated.

"Cool." She grinned. "I can float. But... do I just... touch it, or, like, lie down like I _am_ in my body?"

"The second one, probably." Baba Yaga said. "Just in case."

"Right." Sabrina said, and began to maneuver herself into the same position her body was in, before sinking down into it. However, the situating proved unnecessary, because as soon as she came in contact with herself, she awoke, back in her own body.

"Well, that was simple." Uncle Jake said as Sabrina sat up.

"Are you kidding?" Sabrina asked. "I went to all that trouble for nothing?"

"Well, it looked funny." Uncle Jake grinned at her. "It made my day better. That should count for something."

"We should get to the school, lieblings." Granny interrupted.

"Right." Sabrina said. "Should I rewind us, or should we just be late?"

"Let's be late." Granny said. "You've done enough for one morning. And you said it gives you problems, right?"

"Yup." Sabrina said.

"But you said I could experiment!" Baba Yaga complained.

"Does anyone else think she just sounded like a whiny three-year-old?" Uncle Jake asked.

"Yeah." Sabrina grinned.

* * *

That afternoon, Sabrina looked at Wendell and Bella in annoyance.

"They're still not talking to each other?" She asked.

"No." Red said.

"But they're sitting right next to each other!" Daphne wailed. "And they haven't said two words! If I liked someone, I'd talk to them, at least."

"Don't be so sure, Marshmallow." Puck said. "People in love are weird like that. It's a good reason to stay a kid. Don't have to worry about that."

"I still think we need to do something." Daphne muttered. "It's been ages."

"Like what?" Art asked. "We can't make them talk to each other."

"No, but we could... draw them both into conversation, and then leave one by one!" Daphne said, with the air of someone who believes they have come up with a brilliant solution.

"That's..." Art began, "Actually a pretty good idea."

"I think it's awesome." Jonas grinned.

"I'm not getting involved." Sabrina said, putting her hands up and turning away, her head held high.

"Aw, how come?" Daphne whined.

"She thinks we'll do it to her." Red said. "Or something like it."

"I've got better things to do." Puck said, turning and following Sabrina away.

"Well, that answers my question of what to have them talk about, then." Daphne grinned.

"What's that?" Art asked.

"Sabrina and Puck, obviously." Red smiled.

"I was wondering what would interest them both." Daphne smiled. "But everyone loves gossip."

"Smart." Art grinned, holding up his hand for a high-five.

Daphne stretched up her hand to respond, but didn't come anywhere close to reaching his hand, even when she went onto her tiptoes.

"Could you maybe move your hand down?" She asked.

"Right." Art complied, grinning. "Sorry, squirt."

Daphne stuck her tongue out at Art after returning the high five, then turned to the other side of the cafeteria. "Tim!" She called, "Wanna help me with something?"

Art groaned as Tim wheeled over.

"What's up?" Tim asked.

"We're going to get Bella and Wendell at least talking to each other again," Daphne said, "If not actually together, and what we're going to do is involve them both in a conversation about Sabrina and Puck, and then leave one by one until it's just them."

"Sounds good." Tim said, wheeling after the group, who were following Art as he stalked forward angrily and quickly.

"Art!" Daphne called, jogging a little, "Wait up!"

"Why?" Art grumbled. "You're hanging with Tim right now."

"Can't I hang out with _both_ of you?" Daphne asked, exasperated.

"No." Red giggled.

"Why not?" Daphne asked. "I like both of them. Why don't they like each other?"

"I think that's the problem." Red giggled more. "They want you to pick one of them."

"It's not like that!" Art interrupted. "It's just- Tim and I don't get along well."

"Why?" Daphne asked. "You like everyone!"

"Bad history." Art said tightly. "The little faker."

"I heard that!" Tim called.

"Faker?" Daphne asked.

Art nodded tersely. "I swear I saw him up and walking one day, and he's faking needing the chair for attention. I called him out on it, and we haven't gotten along since."

"He didn't admit it, obviously." Red stated. "So, did you see how Sabrina and Puck were looking at each other earlier?"

"Huh?" Daphne said, then blinked, "Oh, right. I know! They were so totally staring at each other!"

"When will they admit they love each other?" Peaseblossom asked. "I've only known Sabrina for a few months, but even I can tell she's perfect for him."

"What do you think, Bella?" Art asked. "You live with them. Anything interesting going on behind closed doors?'

"Please." Bella rolled her eyes as the others sat down at their table. "They're both in so much denial we could bottle it and sell it!"

"Come on." Wendell said, looking at Bella for the first time in ages. "Something had to happen. You and Daphne have to have tried to get them together."

Daphne and Red shared excited looks, then Red turned to Wendell and complained, "What, don't I get credit for helping get them together?"

"No." Wendell grinned. "You're too considerate. They're much more devious."

"Well..." Daphne said, "There was that one time we locked them in the closet together. Remember that?"

Bella grinned. "Of course. Because they got in that huge fight and I felt guilty, so we schemed a way to make them make up!"

"I want details." Jonas leaned forward. "Lots of juicy details."

As Bella explained, the group began to carry out their plan, and eventually, it was simply Bella and Wendell talking to each other, in a way they hadn't in ages, which continued the rest of the day, with all their friends watching excitedly, including Sabrina and Puck.

"I gotta hand it to you, Daph." Sabrina said as they headed for the parking lot. "Your plan's actually sort of working."

"They're not dating yet." Puck disagreed. "I won't consider it a success until they kiss."

"Which went so well last time." Daphne pointed out. "She said sort of."

"Oh!" Sabrina said, raising a hand, "Wait, I think they're going to- nope. Sorry. False alarm." The others groaned as she raised her voice and called, "Bella! I'm flying home! Don't get left behind!"

"Flying?" Bella asked. "It's February!"

"But beautiful!" Sabrina called. "Besides, it's been ages since I went for a good fly. And if I end up carrying anyone, I'll be nice and warm. How are you getting home?"

"I'm not going home!" Bella responded.

"Why?" Puck asked. "Do you like school so much you want to live here, or something?"

"No." Bella rolled her eyes. "I'll be back for dinner, but Wendell's going to help me with music, and since I'm playing the piano it doesn't make sense to go to the study group."

"Well, you're missing out." Sabrina called. "We're going to the Darling's, and Wendy's making cake!"

"Save me some." Bella called.

"Have fun!" Daphne grinned.

Puck and Red faked smooching noises at each other.

"Shut up, guys!" Bella snapped, blushing.

"Yeah, you know it's not like that... yet." Sabrina grinned.

"Sabrina!" Bella gasped. "Do you want me doing that about you and-"

"Right!" Sabrina interrupted. "Sorry. I get it. Could you make it less obvious, though? It's hard not to say anything."

"Sabrina!" Daphne called. "We've got to go! I promised Art I'd be there in like, five minutes. Plus I want cake."

"Right." Sabrina turned, winking at Bella. "Have fun, guys! Keep it rated g!"

She flew off before Bella could complain any more.


	48. Detention

**AN~ NaNoWriMo soon!**

* * *

In gym class several weeks later, Wendell and Bella finally got together.

They were up to seven on seven, and Sabrina, Bella, Daphne, Red, Jane, Moth, and Natalie were on a team- chosen by the Beast- against Puck, Wendell, Toby, Art, Jonas, Tim, and Mustardseed.

"All right, girls." The Beast said, after he'd picked teams, over the kid's groans, "I know quite a few of you don't like each other, but you are in the battle of the sexes here. It's your job to prove that girls work together better than boys do, because, frankly, I'm not convinced. Guys, I'm counting on you here. Don't let them win."

Sabrina made a face. The Beast usually let them pick their own teams, and she wasn't looking forward to either being on the same team as Moth and Natalie or being pitted against six of her friends.

Moth raised her hand.

Sabrina sighed. When would this girl learn to shut her mouth?

"Sir!" Moth whined. "How come you didn't let us pick our teams? Sabrina is my sworn enemy!"

"Because you're a soldier." The Beast snapped, closing in on Moth. "Mr. Canis and Charming? You know them? They _hate_ each other, but they know that they're each other's best chances for survival, so they work together. _You_ need to learn to do that, girl. The world will not cater to your whims, and you _will_ be put into a unit with someone you don't like at some point. You need to be able to put your personal life away when you're on the battlefield. Otherwise, you'll die. End of story. You have ten minute's prep time!"

"But-" Moth protested.

"Starting _now_, soldier!" The Beast shouted. "You're wasting time!"

"Fine, whatever." Moth muttered, stomping over to the other girls.

"Let's get something straight." Sabrina said once Moth had reached them, looking her and Natalie in the face. "I don't care that you hate me, or that I hate you. We are a team this week, and if either of you decide to backstab me, I will not hesitate to make it rain on you for a week. Now, let's pick a team captain."

"Sabrina." Bella said immediately.

"Me!" Moth snapped.

"I'm not having any of you be my captain." Natalie snapped.

Sabrina sighed. "We're voting. And I don't care who it is, we _listen_ to them, or you will pay. I will not get a bad grade in this class."

"Who do you vote for, Sabrina?" Red asked.

"You." Sabrina said. "You haven't been leader yet. You need a chance to try it."

"I... agree, actually." Daphne said thoughtfully. "Red, you need to step out of your shell."

"I don't want a lunatic for my team captain!" Moth snapped.

"Five minutes!" The Beast called.

"Takes one to know one." Sabrina said. "Moth, Natalie? Nominations?"

"Me." The two girls said in unison.

"I still vote for Sabrina." Bella said.

"Me, too." Red smiled.

"So it's me and Red, then." Sabrina said. "Actual voting time. Jane? You haven't said much."

"You." Jane smiled. "You're a natural, and I really want to win this."

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled. "Natalie?"

"I guess you, too." Natalie sighed. "You're good, and my dad likes you. That'll be a point in our favor."

"I am _not_ voting for _that._" Moth sneered. "Red, then."

"Well, Sabrina wins." Jane grinned. "Maybe next time, Red."

"It's fine." Red grinned. "I didn't want to, anyway."

"Time!" The Beast called. "Take your postitions!"

"We didn't get any strategy time!" Jane wailed.

"It's fine." Sabrina said. "We'll pretend it's an ambush. Roll with it, instant tactics and all that. It may actually be easier. We'll go by what the boys did."

"Who do you think their captain is?" Daphne asked.

"My vote's on Mustardseed." Sabrina said. "I guess we'll find out soon. Everyone! Face off, take your cues from them!"

There was a chorus of replies, then the Beast dropped the flag, and they began.

Sabrina found herself facing Puck, much to her chagrin.

"Hey." She muttered.

"Wassup?" Puck asked.

"Oh, not much," Sabrina said, sidling around him, trying to see all her teammates. "Just..."

She swung a roundhouse kick into his side, and he barely blocked it.

"That was low." Puck muttered.

"No, low would be-" Sabrina demonstrated, with a kick to his groin, what exactly her definition of low was.

Puck blocked again, and returned by pulling out his sword, still wooden.

"Oh, now we're having fun!" Sabrina grinned, pulling out her own sword to block his.

She swung around away from his slice, and saw Moth running at Daphne from behind.

"Daphne!" She shouted. "Duck, now!"

Daphne ducked, and Moth's swing missed.

Art, who was paired against Moth, took the opportunity to help Tim with Daphne. Wendell, sparring against Bella, tried to break free to help Toby against Jane. Bella was trying to keep him back, but it wasn't working. Sabrina wanted to keep watching, but Puck got a lucky swing in that grazed her shoulder and carried him forward, practically into her.

She concentrated on keeping Puck from hurting her while fighting off a dizzy spell and ignoring the black ring that had almost disappeared from her vision for a while, but had come back at a very inconvenient time. She was still fighting when everyone gasped, wolf-whistled, or said "ooh!"

She and Puck looked at each other, nodded, and turned simultaneously.

Bella and Wendell were locked in a passionate- for thirteen-year-olds, at least- kiss.

Apparently, Bella had gotten tired of keeping Wendell from helping his friends, and decided to get devious.

Sabrina stared for a few seconds, then sighed. She'd figure out what was going on later.

"Guys!" She shouted. "What are you doing? We have a match to win!"

Most people blinked, and the fight resumed. Sabrina, who was trying to concentrate on everyone else as well as her own match, didn't notice that she was allowing Puck to back her into a corner until she hit the wall.

"Frigg." She muttered, and Puck grinned.

"Gotcha." He whispered, closing in until their bodies were almost pressed against each other.

Sabrina made a face, blocking his sword. This was remarkably awkward. Despite the fact that she was rather enjoying the sensation, she didn't want Puck's body shoved against hers.

_"STOP!" _The Beast roared.

He stormed over to Sabrina and Puck, pulling Puck back, then moved the few steps to Bella and Wendell, who were still kissing, and yanked them in opposite directions, sending them flying onto the ground.

"What is going_ on?_" He asked. "This is the least organized skirmish I have ever seen!"

Sabrina looked down, blushing.

"I expected more from all of you!" The Beast continued. "Bella and Wendell, Sabrina and Puck, Toby and Natalie, keep the hormones down!"

"That wasn't what it looked like!" Puck protested. "Honestly, it wasn't!"

The Beast glared at Puck, who shut up, and continued, "And don't even get me started on you four, Moth, Art, Tim, Daphne. Attacking a teammate, of all things! I thought I'd gotten it into your heads that you keep your personal lives off the field! If I called your name, you have detention. And don't try to weasel out of it. Go sit down. I'm very disappointed in all of you."

Sabrina nodded, and went over to sit on the wall with the other observers, fuming.

"What were you doing with Puck?" Red whispered.

"I was trying to see everything else that was going on, and I let him back me into a corner. We were kind of... pressed against each other, but it was nothing like that!" Sabrina hissed. "What did Art and Tim do?"

"Tim tripped Art when he was going after Daphne, and Art turned around and punched him. He missed, but- that was when Sir broke it up. Did you see what else was going on?" Red asked.

"Tim and Natalie took a page out of Bella's book." Jane said. "I didn't know they were dating, did you?"

Sabrina shook her head. "Nor do I care."

"Moth went after me again, actually." Daphne said, sitting next to Red. "But I kind of made the floor grow and tripped her. That's why I was in trouble."

"I figured." Sabrina said. "Why didn't she go after me?"

"She thinks she'll get to you through your sister." Natalie said. "Besides, she's under a blood oath not to touch you."

"What?" Sabrina blinked. Natalie obviously wasn't lying, but, that was just too weird. And who would make that oath with Moth? And get her to agree to it?

"Didn't you hear?" Toby giggled. "Puck swore her in that day you were out sick."

"Puck?" Sabrina rounded on him. "Is that true?"

Puck, whose face was remarkably red, nodded.

"Why?" Sabrina asked.

"Because she was plotting again, and I overheard her, and I'd been hearing it and not telling you, and I was sick of it, and tired of stopping her and keeping you from finding out." Puck said, "So I decided to make her stop forever."

"Wow..." Sabrina said. "That was... remarkably sweet. Thanks."

"You're not mad at me for keeping you from dealing with her yourself?" Puck blinked. "Or for swearing her like that?"

"No." Sabrina said. "Should I be? What's involved in that oath?"

"It's not a big deal." Puck said. "And if you're not mad, that's fine."

"Puck?" Sabrina said sternly. "What does a blood oath entail?"

"I hate it when you use big words." Puck complained.

Sabrina sighed. "You're sidestepping the question, which, while less annoying than trying to lie to me, is still irritating. Just tell me what you had to do."

"I don't want to." Puck said. "Then you _will_ be mad."

"I'll be more mad if you don't tell me." Sabrina said. "And I'll just ask Mustardseed, anyway. Whoa! Nice move, Renee!"

Renee, who was currently in a skirmish, had just disarmed a blonde fairy whose name Sabrina thought was Ariel.

Sabrina turned back to Puck. "Well?"

"It's a trade." Puck said. "And an oath that can only be removed if both parties agree while living. I swore Moth that she wouldn't kill you or injure you, ever."

"And she swore you that you'd...?" Sabrina asked.

"Agree if her mother approaches mine- or me- on the subject of the two of us marrying."

Sabrina blinked. "And you _agreed_ to that?"

"Well, I can't agree if I'm already engaged, can I?" Puck asked.

"You're not." Sabrina stated, raising her eyebrows.

"No, but I could be." Puck said nonchalantly."

"To who?" Sabrina asked.

"This is going to seem like a huge favor, Grimm, but I think you owe me." Puck said. "Could you maybe be my fake fiancee? We don't ever have to actually get married, but if we agree to it over a ring or something, then as long as you keep it on, that'll be more important than the blood oath."

"For real?" Sabrina asked.

Puck nodded. "Weird Faerie thing. Love comes first. I think Fae runs different, but since I'm Faerie, and you're almost... it should work."

"So... what do we do?" Sabrina asked. "I'm _not_ wearing an engagement ring."

"We'll figure it out at home." Puck suggested. "Right now I want to bust on Wendell."

"Fine." Sabrina said, relieved. "I need to talk with Bella anyway."

However, they didn't wait until they were home to talk about it.

That afternoon, in detention, Bella and Wendell were practically glued to each other, as were Toby and Natalie. Daphne was trying to keep Art and Tim separated, because the two were even more irritated with each other than usual, and Sabrina and Puck were hiding in a corner to avoid Moth while everyone waited for the Beast to show up.

"So, about that engagement thing..." Sabrina said. "I don't want to wear a ring. I'd rather nobody know we were doing this, so... Is there an alternate?"

"We could..." Puck thought, "...use your necklace. I gave it to you, and you wear it a lot anyway..."

"So what's involved?" Sabrina asked.

"Gimme." Puck held his hand out.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, slipped the chain over her head, shaking her hair out, and handed it to Puck.

Puck took the necklace in his hands and asked, "Sabrina, will you marry me?"

"Yes?" Sabrina squeaked, as Puck slipped the necklace back over her head.

There was a slight spark as Puck released the necklace, and it felt warm on Sabrina's skin, but other than that, there was no change.

"And that'll keep you from having to marry Moth?" Sabrina asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, why?" Puck asked.

"It just seemed... anticlimactic, is all." Sabrina shrugged.

"A lot of the most powerful spells don't come with big sideshows. It's a sign of how powerful they really are." Puck said, faking a wise tone.

Just then, the Beast entered the room. "All right, kiddos! Time to get started!"

"What are we doing?" Sabrina asked.

"That depends on who you are." The Beast said. "Tim, Art. You two will be working together. Daphne and Moth, so will you two. You'll be versing each other for the next two hours. And if you don't learn to work together today, you will come back tomorrow and do the same thing, until you can get along on the field. Go to the far corner of the gym and begin sparring, I'll come observe in about fifteen minutes.

The four left, groaning, leaving Sabrina, Puck, and the two couple to await their fate.

"Your conduct was unacceptable today, you six. It's PDA, it's rude, and it's disgusting. I hope you're ashamed of yourselves."

"Um..." Puck raised his hand. "Actually, Sabrina and I weren't doing what you think we were doing."

"What have I told you about inter- wait." The Beast stopped. "You weren't? Why should I believe you?"

"Because they're still in denial." Bella said. "They won't even tell themselves they like each other."

"Because we don't!" Sabrina snapped. Talking back to the Beast was out of the question, but Bella was something else. She'd promised never to talk about that!

"Are you telling me the truth, Sabrina?" The Beast asked.

Sabrina nodded. "I wouldn't lie to you, sir."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" The Beast asked again.

"Because we _were_ a little too close." Sabrina said. "And you've been teaching us all year that a good soldier doesn't talk back to superiors. If I'd tried to explain I would have gotten detention anyway for disobeying orders."

"She's right." Puck said.

"Watch it, boy. I haven't said you can go yet." The Beast snapped, not looking away from Sabrina, "I could still change my mind."

"Yessir." Puck said quickly.

Sabrina shot him a smile. He was finally picking up on this!

"Sir?" Bella asked. "While you're deciding whether or not to let them go, what are we going to be doing?"

"You four will be running drills, without your... signifigant others." The Beast said dryly. "Sabrina, Puck. Go home. Practice. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir!" Sabrina called as she ran out of the gym after Puck.

The two were flying home, then Sabrina realized something.

"We're going to have to go back for them." She said. "They have no way home."

"We'll pick them up on the way home from tutoring." Puck shrugged. "Race you there!"

"No fair!" Sabrina called as he raced ahead, "You've got like, super speed!"

The two sped their way to the Golden Egg, where the study group was being held that day. When they got there- Puck won the race, of course- Sabrina immediately began helping the impatiently waiting people who wanted to know how to fight better, while Puck went to explain algebra to a few kids a year or two younger- physically- than he was.

They spent a few happy hours doing that before going to pick Daphne, Red, and Bella up. They arrived home without incident, but opening the door, they were met with chaos.


	49. Dresses and Turtles

"Hey, kids." Uncle Jake called wearily.

"What's going on?" Sabrina asked.

"Wedding plans." Uncle Jake explained.

"See you." Puck said quickly, and disappeared.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "That idiot." She said wryly. "Can we help?"

"Please." Uncle Jake said. "They're all trying to pick between a bunch of colors that all look the same to me. I mean, white is white, how many shades of it can you possibly have?"

"I've never really understood that, either." Sabrina said. "But a lot, I guess."

"But what's the difference?" Jake asked, exasperated.

"Well, this one's cream, and that's eggshell, and that one's almond-" Daphne started, pointing at the color samples.

"Stop, Daphne." Sabrina said. "All I see is different shades of off-white, and Uncle Jake doesn't see any difference. You're not helping."

"I was trying to." Daphne muttered. "Can _you_ tell the difference, Red?"

Red nodded. "I can't name a lot of them, but getting the right color is important for art."

"Why are you looking at fifty different shades of not-quite-white, anyway?" Bella asked.

"Wedding dress." Uncle Jake said shortly.

"We can't use white, because it's my second wedding." Briar said, "So we're trying to pick another color, but we can't decide which one. And I want the bridesmaids in pink or yellow, so it has to go with that, and then there's the decorations for the reception _and_ the wedding itself, and we need to decide on flowers-"

"I like that one." Sabrina said, pointing to a card at random.

"Really?" Briar asked, looking at it.

Sabrina shook her head. "I can't tell the difference. I like them all. But go with that one, if it'll make things simpler."

Red nodded. "Actually, Sabrina's right. If you want a yellow and pink theme, this one's yellowish, but not too much. It'll go nicely with one of the darker pinks."

"Did you pick a material yet?" Daphne asked. "Or, more importantly, decide who's going to be in the wedding party?"

"Silk." Granny said.

At the same time, Veronica said "Taffeta."

Uncle Jake dropped his head into his hands. "Please no, don't start this again."

"Let's ask our resident artist." Briar said, turning to Red.

Red, seeing everyone look at her, blushed. "W- well, If you want to use that color, then I say go with the taffeta. It reflects the light back more, and... yeah."

"That settles it, then." Briar said. "Taffeta. And Daphne, as for who's in the wedding party- I don't know. I have too many people to choose from. I even have too many choices for flower girl."

"Who are they?" Bella asked blankly.

"Red and Daphne." Jake said. "Even I knew that."

"I think Red should be your flower girl." Daphne smiled. "Snow promised I could be her flower girl if she married Charming."

"Well, that's three choices." Briar said dryly. "Why is it that these kids get this done so much faster than all of us?"

"Because we know more, duh." Daphne grinned.

Briar laughed. "Well, if you're so knowledgeable, then help me decide who should be my maid of honor, and how many bridesmaids I should have."

"First off, how many groomsmen does Jake want?" Bella said, sitting down in a businesslike manner.

"One." Jake said dryly. "Mr. Clay."

"What about Da-" Daphne stopped. "Oh. Dad's the best man, right?"

Uncle Jake nodded. "I thought about the Anderson brothers, and the three little pigs, and Puck, but- well, _I'd_ like to keep it simple."

"But I don't want to offend anyone!" Briar said.

"Briar, if you had your way, there'd be more people in the wedding party than guests!" Jake sighed. "And I think everyone will understand that you couldn't have all your friends be bridesmaids."

"I can't choose, though!" Briar sighed.

"Simple." Sabrina said. "Write all their names down and put them in a hat. Whoever you pick out first is the maid of honor, second is the bridesmaid."

"But what about a ring bearer?" Veronica asked.

"Do you know Little Boy Blue?" Daphne asked suddenly, grinning sidelong at Red.

Red blushed and looked down.

"I know him." Briar said. "He's your age, right? A sweet boy, kind of quiet, likes to sleep? That's a good suggestion. Nice job, Daphne. I'm going to go write down the names for bridesmaids."

She got up and left the table, pulling the color samples for her dress with her.

"I suppose we ought to start cleaning up the color samples we won't use." Granny said, standing.

Veronica stood, too, and the two picked up the samples, leaving only the pinks and yellows on the table.

"That one and that one." Red said quietly, pointing at a yellow and pink shade after some thought. "If Briar likes them anyway."

"Sounds fine to me." Jake said. "If we could get this whole thing down to three colors, that would be a huge step in the right direction."

"Do you know _when_ the wedding will be?" Sabrina asked.

Uncle Jake shook his head. "Honestly, before you guys got home, all we really knew was that we were _having_ a wedding."

"Did I come home too early?" Henry asked, walking through the door. "I wasn't sure you were done, but I didn't have any other excuses not to come home yet."

"We've almost got the dress colors picked out." Veronica said. "Go look for Puck, dear. He ran off a while ago, and it's his turn to make dinner."

"Thank you." Henry said, relieved. "I hate wedding plans."

"Briar, are you done yet?" Jake called.

"Yes." She responded, coming back into the room. "Veronica, will you be my maid of honor? I'll ask Snow to be my bridesmaid tomorrow."

"Now you need the dress designs, the decorations, the date, and the location, right?" Sabrina asked, ticking them off on her fingers.

"And catering." Veronica added.

"The Baker." Jake said promptly.

"But- he's in the Scarlet Hand, isn't he?" Bella pointed out.

"I don't care." Jake said. "That man makes the best food in the whole world."

"We've got the date narrowed down to sometime in the summer." Briar said. "And when exactly it is will affect the dress designs."

"Not really." Sabrina said. "I know I promised Baba Yaga I'd stop messing with the weather, but I could make an exception for your wedding."

"I like July." Briar said. "Late July."

"How late?" Uncle Jake asked.

"The... twenty-seventh?" Briar asked.

"Sounds fine to me." Jake shrugged.

Granny checked the calendar. "No previous engagements. I'll mark it down."

"I think we should have the reception here." Jake said. "It's simple, it's free, nobody from the Scarlet Hand can crash the party..."

Briar nodded.

"You're making these decisions pretty fast." Sabrina said. "I can't believe it took you so long for the rest of it."

"Well, now that your mother and grandmother have stopped arguing..." Uncle Jake trailed off. "Mom, you don't mind holding the reception here, do you?"

"Of course not!" Granny smiled. "In fact, I think it's a grand idea. Where are you going to hold the wedding itself, then?"

"Well, we could have it outside, since the weather will definitely be nice." Veronica suggested. "Or Friar Tuck has a church..."

"Oh, I love that church!" Briar said. "It's so beautiful! But it's also a little small..."

"I can fix that." Jake said. "As long as you're sure you don't want it outside."

"We can have the reception outside." Briar said. "That way the house doesn't get too crowded, and we can enjoy the nice weather Sabrina will provide us with." She smiled at Sabrina.

Sabrina blinked, then smiled back tentatively, beginning to regret offering to fix the weather. It seemed to react to her mood more than anything, and if she got upset, she might literally rain on the parade.

"You like the colors Red picked?" Veronica asked, showing them to Briar, who nodded.

"At this point, I'm really ready to go with the first two colors someone shows me, even if they're like, green and electric orange." She said tiredly. "Jake, you want to go see Friar Tuck and ask him about this?"

"Gladly." Jake said. "No designing things for us today?"

"Well, I was rather hoping Red would do me the honor of sketching some dresses." Briar said, smiling at Red.

Red flushed bright pink and nodded. "I'd love to." She smiled.

As Uncle Jake and Briar left, Henry and Puck stuck their heads gingerly around the door.

"Are you done yet?" Henry asked.

"For today." Granny said, cleaning up the last of the samples. "Puck, get started on dinner, will you?"

"I'll set the table." Sabrina said.

"How long does it take to plan a wedding, anyway?" Puck muttered as everyone else left, beginning to make dinner.

"Ages, apparently." Sabrina said. "I don't think I want to get married."

"Why would you?" Puck snorted. "Big hoopla about being mature and 'in love' and all that nonsense. What fun would that be?"

"Well, maybe, if the right person came along, I might consider it." Sabrina said quietly.

Puck made a face. "Now you're starting to sound like a girl."

"I am a girl." Sabrina pointed out. "And just because I act tough a lot doesn't mean I don't have feelings."

"I wasn't saying you don't have feelings, I just don't want you getting all moony-eyed over some guy now." Puck made a face.

"I'm not planning on it." Sabrina said defensively. "Just saying I might, someday. But I think I'd like to elope."

"Doesn't that involve running away from home to get married?" Puck asked. "Why would you do that?"

"My dad might not let me do it any other way, since he still feels like I should be ten right now." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Do I look ten to you?"

Puck looked her up and down, then turned quickly back to his vegetables. "No. You look very not-ten."

"Thanks." Sabrina said, suddenly feeling awkward. "He doesn't seem to like you much, does he? My dad, I mean."

"I guess not." Puck said, shrugging.

"Why, I wonder?" Sabrina asked. "I mean, did you do something awful to him or something?"

"Not that I know of..." Puck said warily. "I mean, I pull a lot of pranks. I could just not remember it."

Sabrina snorted. "You? Not remember a prank? I bet you have every single joke you ever played on anyone memorized."

Puck laughed a little. "Well... most of them, anyway. I don't think there's enough space in my brain for four thousand year's worth of pranks."

"Everafter's memories must be wired differently than other people's." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "I mean, all that history, but most don't seem to forget anything."

"I never really thought about it." Puck said. "But then again, humans have more space in their brains than they ever really use, anyway."

"Aren't you done setting the table yet, Sabrina?" Daphne asked, surprised, sticking her head through the doorway. "I need some help with my sword techniques, can you hurry up and come help me?"

"Sure." Sabrina said, dropping the last few plates quickly where they belonged. "I'm about done, actually, so- Hey! Wait up!" She ran after Daphne, who was already gone, both of them laughing.

In the living room, they cleared a space and Sabrina and Daphne, after fiddling with their swords so that they went into what Sabrina called 'practice mode'- when they were metal and the correct weight, but not sharp, and so incapable of causing more harm than a bad bruise- entered the guard position, and nodded at each other.

"Ready?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah." Daphne said, sounding determined.

"What exactly do you need help with?" Sabrina asked, lowering her blade slightly.

Daphne followed suit and said, "I'm not fast. And I'm not strong enough for the swords we use in school, so I'm even slower. And because I can't do anything in time, I don't get good. I can't block, I can't strike-"

"Let's see just how bad you are." Sabrina said. "Then I'll see what I can do."

"Are you going to go easy on me?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina laughed. "Of course not. This is to prepare you for a war. If I go easy on you now, you'll die when you get out there. And Daphne?"

As they both raised their swords again, Daphne looked up. "Yes?"

"If I'm going to hit you- run." Sabrina said, and struck.

Daphne tried to pull her sword into the correct position to block, but Sabrina was already swinging again. She struck, and struck, backing Daphne into a corner, her face focused.

Daphne started to panic. Sabrina was acting like- well, like she wanted to kill her! And she had nowhere else to run!

If only she had a shield...

As Sabrina bore down on her for the final strike, Daphne cowered in the corner, pulling her head into her shoulders for the scant protection it would provide.

Her head seemed to be able to sink a lot further than it had been able to before. And Sabrina hadn't hit her yet.

She opened her eyes, and found that she was in a tunnel of some sort. A very, very small tunnel, one that she shouldn't possibly be able to fit into. She reached out to try and touch the walls, which looked oddly leathery, and found that, though there was light, and the wall was less than two inches from her face, she could neither see her hand nor reach the wall.

She decided to stretch her head up to that little circle of light. She stretched, and stretched, and her neck again went further than she was used to, until she was poking her head out the top.

There was Sabrina, staring at her with a shocked look on her face, but something seemed wrong again. Sabrina was about ten times too big.

"G-Granny?" Sabrina said quietly, and her voice quivered. She cleared her throat and called again, "Granny!"

"What is it, _liebling_?" Granny called absently from another room.

"It's Daphne." Sabrina said.

There was a scuffle in the other room as the unsteadiness in Sabrina's voice became apparent. Granny- also much too large (come to think of it, so was the whole room. Had she shrunk and fallen into something?) and the rest of the family appeared, to find Sabrina staring at Daphne.

"Is that...?" Veronica asked, looking at Daphne quizzically.

Sabrina nodded mutely.

Henry sat down, looking faint. "Why me?" He muttered.

Puck, for his part, burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Daphne snapped. Or tried to. It came out more like a grunt.

Red understood, though.

"Daphne..." She said. "Daphne, you're a turtle."

"A tortoise, I think, actually." Bella said thoughtfully.

Granny shook her head. "The important thing is to get her to stop being that and go back to being human. Quickly, might I add. I assume you don't want to stay a reptile for an extended period of time?" She asked Daphne, who shook her head. It felt odd.

"Think back, Daphne." Uncle Jake said, squatting down by her so that they were much closer to eye level. "Remember what was happening when you transformed. Did you drink a potion? Or get hit by a wand? What made it happen?"

Daphne shook her head again.

"It wasn't anything outside." Sabrina said. "I think it might be kind of my fault, though."

"How is it your fault?" Puck asked, one eyebrow raised. "I don't remember you being to turn people into things."

"I can't." Sabrina said. "Go back to making dinner."

"But I wanna-"

"Puck." Granny said warningly.

Puck made a face, and left the room.

"How _is_ it your fault?" Bella asked once he was gone.

"We were sparring." Sabrina said, holding up her sword to demonstrate. "And I- well, I got really into it, 'cause I told her I was gonna do it full out, and I had her backed into the corner, and I was acting like I was going in for the kill- I wasn't really going to hurt her, but I think I did too good a job acting, 'cause she got _really_ scared, and then she just- shrunk. And turned green. With a shell."

Baba Yaga appeared in the doorway at that moment.

"Why can't you girls develop new powers when I'm _not_ in the middle of something?" She snapped.

"She didn't _mean_ to." Red protested.

"Well, there isn't much I can do at the moment." Baba Yaga said. "But Bella transforms, yes?"

"Y-yeah." Bella said nervously. "But what does that have to do with-"

"You tell her how you transform back." Baba Yaga said. "We'll deal with the fact that you're not using nearly the full extent of your abilities yet later."

"I- I just kind of think about what I was like before." Bella said. "You know, human. Maybe if you try that, Daphne..."

Daphne tried. She tried very hard for an extraordinary time. But no luck.

She was stuck.


	50. Shapeshifter

**AN~ Meant to put these in last chapter:**

**_Puckabrina-Percabeth-Fax101:_ NaNoWriMo is this website that challenges people to write 50,000 words in a month. I failed, but it was fun.**

**_DreamQueen615_(formerly DreamerGirl1415): First off, why are you not logged in when you review? It would make it much easier to send you replies...**

**Secondly, on the subject of your most recent review: I have done the same thing many, many times, but I usually switch to actually working whenever someone who cares is in the room. Lol**

**Third, replying to your extraordinarily long review: I personally prefer quality over quantity in reviews, so I don't mind one very long one. I'm glad you think this is believable and that I picked good stone colors (yes, they stay on the stones. That way no one gets confused even if they don't remember whose color is whose) and I may use your Charming idea. Thank you for your input.**

* * *

Daphne was still a turtle, and she was getting really worried. What if she didn't get turned back soon and had to go to school like this? What if she _never_ turned back into a human and had to spend the rest of her life as a small greenish gray lumpy thing who couldn't speak English?

She _needed _a voice! If she couldn't speak, how could she tell people when she'd made up a new word? How could she say if she'd found a clue?

It wasn't fair! There were tons of animals in Ferryport Landing that could talk! Why couldn't she?

She was suddenly so overcome by the desire to speak, she opened her mouth to scream, expecting the croaking noise that had come out the last time she tried to talk.

That was why she was so surprised when a loud, high-pitched squeal came out of her mouth. She stopped screaming immediately, and looked down at herself, surprised.

"Daphne?" Red asked, sounding confused as she poked her head into the bedroom. "You're not a turtle anymore?"

"Apparently not." Daphne replied, slightly dazed.

"Come on." Red said, smiling. "They're all going to want to interrogate you."

Daphne made a face. "The sad thing," She said, following her, "Is you're right. I bet you not one person will start off with, 'you're human again! Yay!' It'll be 'do you remember why you're not a turtle anymore?'"

She was right.

When most of the family had stopped asking questions long enough for her to get a word in edgewise, she took a breath and said, "I don't know, all right? I don't know how I turned into a turtle in the first place, I don't know why I'm not still one, and I've never done that before. I didn't even know I _could _do that."

"Maybe we can help you figure it out." Veronica suggested.

"I don't know." Daphne said doubtfully. "I mean, one minute I was in one shape, and the next I wasn't. I didn't _feel_ myself changing or anything."

"Well, what happened right before you changed?" Uncle Jake asked.

"I..." Daphne thought about it, then realized: "I panicked."

"It took you _that_ long to panic about being stuck as a turtle?" Puck asked. "I'm impressed, Marshmallow."

"The sad thing is that I was having a panic attack over not being able to talk." Daphne said with a grin.

"We saved you some dinner, _liebling_," Granny said, pointing to a plate at the empty seat. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, very." Daphne said, sitting and digging in to the food.

"Maybe with practice you could transform _without_ having to panic?" Sabrina suggested. "It would be really convenient. Especially since I bet you can turn into more than a turtle. Like, if you could do a bird, then we wouldn't have to fly you to school, you could do it yourself!"

"Don't you like carrying me, then?" Daphne asked, mouth full of food.

"It's not that." Sabrina said. "It's just- well, when we fly, one of us has to carry two people, and I can't do it because I'm not strong enough, and it doesn't seem fair to make Puck do it all the time. And if we were in a hurry, it would be nice if you could just up and away yourself without needing to be next to someone with wings."

"True that." Puck agreed. "The air is usually a lot safer than the ground if someone's chasing you or something, and if you could fly yourself, then your sister and I would only need to grab one person each."

"Why are you three planning for an emergency?" Henry asked wearily. "I'm planning on keeping Sabrina and Daphne, at least, away from any fighting. I can't control what you do, Puck, but it would be nice if you stayed here."

"Dad." Sabrina said. "You can't honestly expect me to not fight. We're going to a school to train us to deal with this."

"There's a war coming, dear." Veronica pointed out. "I doubt there'll be any safe place inside the barrier, and the only way to get the girls out is with Sabrina's cooperation. You may as well accept that and let them be as prepared as possible."

"I know." Henry said. "But I don't want them out fighting. And I plan to keep all these children in the house as soon as the real fighting breaks out."

Sabrina made a face, and Daphne smiled. She could already tell her sister was making plans to sneak out. And she would go with her, no matter how stupid her plan was, because that was what they did. Puck would probably go, too, since it was Sabrina. And Red and Bella? Maybe. Probably, actually, because Bella was totally devoted to Sabrina, and Red was quiet, but under that, she was a really strong, brave girl.

"Well, Henry, if you can keep the girls from going wherever they want, that's better than I've ever been able to do." Granny was saying as Daphne began listening again.

"What?" Henry blinked. "Haven't you been able to control them? I seem to remember you doing a very good job of that with us."

"Well, Henry, you didn't sneak-" Granny began, but Sabrina interrupted.

"Well," She said, standing and clearing her throat loudly, "Daphne and I never actually finished our sword match. Coming, Daph?"

"What?" Daphne asked, looking at her plate. "But I'm not-"

Sabrina gave her a look, and Daphne suddenly understood.

"Oh, right." She said. "Coming."

Once they were out of the room Sabrina turned to her and said, "I got a good idea of your issues already, so don't worry, we won't be sparring again."

Daphne, who had been worried about this very thing, sighed in relief. "Then what will you be doing?"

"Showing you exercises." Sabrina said. "Ones that will make you stronger, or faster. Whichever."

"Like what?" Daphne asked.

"Well, it'll help if you can use your sword, not one of the other ones." Sabrina started. "And adjust the weight. It's way too heavy for you."

"But everyone else is fine!" Daphne complained.

"Daph." Sabrina said. "You're eight. And even now that you're an everafter, you're a young everafter with almost no experience with swords. You need to use a lighter weapon, otherwise you'll look like a baby trying to play with the big kids' toys. But you can work on your strength and endurance and speed."

"What should I do for each one?" Daphne asked.

"Speed- which is the most important thing, it'll keep you alive, even if it doesn't kill anyone else- for that, run. Run all the time, everywhere you go. You'll get faster the more you do it. And dodge things. Or throw them and try to catch them. Race yourself to do things. Try and do them faster and faster each time." Sabrina started. "That will help with your endurance, too. And for strength, lift heavy things. Do push-ups. And sit-ups. Make your sword a little heavier every day, so that it's always a little too heavy."

"All right." Daphne said. "I can do that."

She did. It was harder than she expected to fit it in, because she was now receiving lessons outside of school from Baba Yaga, joining Sabrina- and, to her surprise, Bella- in her hut four days a week.

"You all need lessons on transformation." Baba Yaga explained. "Daphne, you'll need to figure out how to transform at will, instead of in a panic. Sabrina, you weren't even aware you had the ability to do so, and Bella, you aren't using nearly enough of your abilities."

"What?" Bella asked, looking befuddled.

"Goodness, girl, you didn't think turning into a green thing with hair was all you could do, did you?" Baba Yaga cackled.

"Well... kind of." Bella said warily. "And you know, it's more like I'm supposed to be the frog thing. It- it seems natural, somehow."

"That's because of your father." Baba Yaga said, then muttered something about upstart princes who insulted witches.

"What about him?" Sabrina asked. "All of them, actually. Except for the Spider, they're not animals anymore. How come their kids can change into monsters? No offense."

"None taken." Bella assured her.

"It's because the change stays in your blood, girl." Baba Yaga grinned. "Once a monster, always a monster. You tell the old man that, would you? Canis?"

"Why don't you tell him?" Daphne muttered.

"Because Canis and I don't- don't see each other anymore." Baba Yaga said, and Sabrina could have sworn she saw her blush.

"You used to, then?" Bella asked.

"A long time ago." Baba Yaga said. "I've always had a soft spot for animal-people. When I saw him that first time- I helped the man out a bit, and for quite some time, the wolf only came out at night, or when he was angry. And I was always there to help him back. We had an argument, though, about Wilhelm, and then he went feral. We haven't spoken since."

"That's where werewolves come from, then?" Sabrina asked. "Mr. Clay?"

"Why don't you make up with him?" Daphne asked. "I bet he'd like to be friends."

"No." Baba Yaga snapped. "Besides, he's doing the same thing he got angry with me for."

"What was that?" Bella asked.

Baba Yaga's cheeks went from gray to a normal flesh color again, and she glared. "We're not here to talk about me. We're here to teach you three how to use your abilities."

Bella smiled knowingly at Sabrina, who rolled her eyes. Whatever Baba Yaga's issue was, it was none of her business.

"How do I do the wolf thing?" She asked Baba Yaga.

"Normally I'd say anger, but yours is so close to the surface, I doubt that will trigger it." Baba Yaga said thoughtfully.

"Hey, I've been better!" Sabrina protested."I only lost my temper twice this week!"

"True, but you'd have morphed already if that was the case." Baba Yaga was still thinking. "It's been what- Almost a year, now?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "So... what do I do?"

"Try letting go of your humanity." Baba Yaga suggested. "The wolf is insane, and in changing into it, you become less human... at least in form. If we manage these classes correctly, you may be able to tap into the power without suffering for it."

"Right." Sabrina said. "I'll go outside and practice." She headed for the door, opened it, and looked out irritably. "House? Are you really going to make me fly?"

The house rumbled and Baba Yaga cackled as everything shook, allowing Sabrina to leave more easily.

"You're easier, girl." Baba Yaga said to Bella. "You already know how to shift fairly well, you just haven't managed frog yet. Join Sabrina and just concentrate on becoming a frog."

Bella ran out of the house, grateful to escape the smell.

"What about me?" Daphne asked.

"You stay with me, girl." Baba Yaga flashed her a gunky, crooked toothed smile, and Daphne shuddered. Baba Yaga had to be the grossest teacher she'd ever had, and she wished there was someone less... creepy to be the resident magic expert. Sabrina didn't seem to have a problem with her, though, which was weird, because Sabrina didn't really like witches.

"Right." Daphne said, and set about the long, difficult process of learning to control her new powers.

Outside, Sabrina was having difficulty thinking like an animal.

"It's not working!" She snapped finally. "I just don't know how animals think!"

Bella, who was already more frog than girl, grunted and hopped away to continue her work somewhere else.

"You're no help anyway." Sabrina muttered, then leaned back against a rock to see if she could 'think like an animal,' as Baba Yaga had put it.

"Whatcha doin', Grimm?" Puck's voice broke what little concentration she'd had, and she glared at him.

"I was _trying_ to do what Baba Yaga was telling me, but you broke my concentration." She snapped.

Puck, who knew from experience that Baba Yaga's lessons tended to end up with Sabrina destroying something, jumped back a little, then looked at her suspiciously. "What exactly does she want you to do?"

"She thinks I can turn into the big bad wolf minus the anger issues, but to do it, I apparently have to get in touch with nature or something." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "It's not working, obviously."

"I dunno." Puck joked. "You're looking kind of hairy."

"Oh, ha-ha." Sabrina said. "Sometimes I just wish I had normal superpowers, you know? Ones that everyone already knows how to use, so that I don't have to get all weirdly philisophical about this. I do much better with direct instructions, like: go here, do this, and this will happen. Not: maybe if you think like an animal for long enough, you can do this thing that we don't even have proof you can do but I think you can!"

"Getting tired?" Puck asked dryly. When Sabrina just glared at him, he suggested, "Why don't we take a break? I don't think thinking like an animal is something you can concentrate on like that."

Sabrina sighed. "All right. It'll do me as much good as anything else."

Puck, in the process of distracting Sabrina, managed to make her think more childishly, and when he turned into an animal, she was so caught up in their game that she found herself morphing into the wolf- which was exactly what Puck had meant to happen.

Sabrina blinked, and looked down at herself, then concentrated on returning to human form, which was much easier than turning into the wolf had been.

"You did that on purpose." She accused.

Puck grinned at her. "Well, it worked, didn't it?"

"So that whole time-" Sabrina started.

"No." Puck said. "It wouldn't have worked if I just wanted to get you to finish your lesson. I reminded you how animals think. Are we going to need to do this every time you have to change into the wolf?"

"No." Sabrina shuddered. "I don't like being that thing. It's... creepy. And I feel like I can't control myself. Like if I lost my temper, I might kill someone. Besides, I've got the feel of it now. I can probably do it again if I need to. But only then."

Puck was staring at her with an oddly respectful look in his eyes. "That's really mature of you, Grimm. Like, the good mature, not the I-can't-have-fun mature."

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "I'll add that to my list of the ever so smooth compliments you've given me."

"My compliments are smooth!" Puck protested. "I just have to think of ways to do it that won't make you bigheaded or think I- never mind."

"Think you what?" Sabrina asked.

"Nothing." Puck said, blushing a little. "Just- forget it, Grimm. It's not important."

He flew off, leaving her standing in his 'bedroom' by herself. She watched him for a long time before heading back to Baba Yaga's hut.

* * *

Daphne had, after many days of deliberation, decided that Baba Yaga must be spoken to.

"Um... Baba Yaga?" She said, one day during her transformation lesson.

"What, girl?" Baba Yaga asked crankily.

"I-" Daphne took a deep breath. "I think you should go talk to Mr. Canis again. Soon."

"Why?" Baba Yaga turned to Daphne and looked at her straight on, then stopped when she saw Daphne's expression. "You saw something, didn't you?"

Daphne nodded. "A lot. And I'm just afraid that if you don't talk to him again, you'll- regret it. Or something."

"He started it." Baba Yaga muttered.

Daphne looked at her, exasperated. "It doesn't matter! Whatever you two fought about, whatever reason you're mad at him now, it's not a big deal! And you'll- you have to talk to him."

Baba Yaga sighed and nodded. "I will. Are you going to tell anyone else what you saw?"

Daphne shook her head. "I don't. Ever. Sabrina- she doesn't want to know. It scares her. And Granny likes to be surprised. Nobody else would really listen except Red, and I don't want to burden her. Besides- half the time it changes the next time I get a vision. I don't want to go telling people the future and be proved wrong."

"And yet you're telling me." Baba Yaga said, but it sounded like a question.

Daphne shrugged. "You deserve to know."

"Don't you think this could turn out to be wrong, too?" Baba Yaga asked.

Daphne shrugged again, then shook her head. "No. I mean, I've seen everyone in this town dead in the future at least once, but it usually changes the next time I look at them. You- it's always the same scene, and I've only ever not seen it happen twice since we started lessons."

Baba Yaga nodded, and Daphne could see her accept the news.

"When?" The old woman asked.

"Soon." Daphne said.

"And how?"

"It's quick," Daphne said with a quick hissing intake of breath.

Baba Yaga nodded grimly. "Thank you, child. The chance to prepare is more than most get."

"You're not sad." Daphne noticed.

Baba Yaga laughed bitterly. "I'm old, child, and I've lived my life. My only regrets are the knowledge that will be lost and the wolf man."

"But that's not true." Daphne said. "Sabrina loves you. Puck idolizes you. And Mr. Clay doesn't have to be a regret. Go talk to him."

Baba Yaga smiled at her, and Daphne repressed a shudder as she said, "True, child. I shall go take care of business. Your lesson today is canceled."

Baba Yaga left then, taking her house with her, and Daphne was left alone to find her own way back to the rest of the house.


	51. Finals

**_cammycrazygirl:_ How are you lost? I'd be glad to explain whatever you're not getting.**

* * *

Third marking period rolled into fourth in a haze of lessons, and Sabrina's thirteenth birthday passed uneventfully. Bella and Veronica had both wanted to host a huge party, but Henry had vetoed it. She only got presents from her family as a result, but she didn't mind. Having her parents there to celebrate with her was present enough.

Baba Yaga had, after her talk with Daphne, gone to meet Mr. Clay, and he became a much more prominent figure in the house again. There was something in his eyes when he looked at Baba Yaga that suggested the two were more than friends, but there was no proof otherwise: he paid her no special attention, nor did she act particularly moony-eyed around him, though they did spend a lot of time together.

In English class, Sabrina, Bella, and Puck worked their way closer and closer to finishing the required work for the entire course. Puck and Bella shot forward in Science- and Puck in math- and everyone had finished U.S. History one and was either on World History or U.S. two. In gym they worked their way through larger groups by the week, and thus finals jumped upon them suddenly.

Taking the finals was easier than Sabrina had feared, and she was fairly confident she had passed all of the written exams, except for French, as she headed for her final test, Gym.

"All right, chickadees." The Beast grinned at them all. "You're going to be sparring against me. One on one. Your choice of weapons. You have fifteen minutes to either defeat me or simply stay alive. If you must surrender- or I 'kill' you- then you fail. Everyone leave the room except Bella."

Bella looked around nervously, and Sabrina shot her an encouraging look as she left.

One by one, the other students entered the gym and left again, fifteen minutes later, sweaty and exhausted. Finally, it was Sabrina's turn, and she took a deep breath before pushing open the door and walking into the gymnasium.

"Grimm." The Beast greeted her, not looking tired at all.

"Hello, sir." Sabrina said.

"Choose your weapon." The Beast told her, nodding to a table full of various sharp objects.

"Sir?" Sabrina asked, "Can I use my own sword? I have it with me."

"Your sister asked the same thing." The Beast sighed. "Go ahead, makes no difference to me."

"Thank you." Sabrina said, pulling her sword out of her belt and running her thumb over the hilt so that it morphed from wood to metal.

"Nice." The Beast said appreciatively, pulling out his own enormous broadsword. "You wield it better than she does. Guard."

Sabrina held her sword up in the proper position, waiting for the Beast to move.

He struck suddenly, and she parried. His strength surprised her, and she realized soon enough that blocking him wasn't going to work, because it wasted too much energy to keep from collapsing. Nor could she dodge, because she might trip, or not move far enough. If things kept on this way, she'd be dead in a few minutes.

By the time she finished that thought, the Beast was coming at her again, and she jumped back just in time to avoid his blade.

She never touched back down. She reversed her gravity just enough that she floated near the ceiling, watching the Beast warily.

"Are you going to wait the time out up there?" The Beast asked. "You'd pass, then. But I was rather looking forward to fighting you. You're quite talented."

"Not enough to beat you." Sabrina said. "You're too strong. Maybe next year."

"Very well." The Beast said, sitting. "I'll just rest up for the next tester. Maybe he'll have the courage to actually fight me."

"You can't goad me into this." Sabrina said. "I know when I'm out of my depth. I have one year of swordfighting experience. You have centuries, and you're both twice my size and three times as strong. I _will_ lose. If it's a choice of fight or flight, I'm much better at flight."

"Your sister stuck it out." The Beast said nonchalantly. "I'll give her a D, or maybe a low C, but she didn't quit."

"Not working." Sabrina said calmly, her back resting against the ceiling now.

"Suit yourself." The Beast said. "I expected more from you, though."

Sabrina made no reply, but she decided that she _was_ going to fight him. She'd do it on her terms, though.

"Bella finished, too. So did Red and Puck." The Beast continued.

Sabrina waited a few more seconds, making sure she was ready, then dropped behind him, landing as quietly as possible.

It wasn't quietly enough, though, and the Beast turned around just in time to block her sword, grinning.

"Good girl." He said, face full of approval.

Sabrina muttered a curse, slipping her sword away.

The Beast swept his arm forward and said, "You were almost quiet enough. I heard you draw your sword, though."

"I'll work on that." Sabrina said, parrying. "Just a question- how much magic can I use before I get in trouble? Pretending that first jump thing didn't happen."

"All you want." The Beast said, breaking his sword from hers and striking again. "I never said it was a swordfight. I never even said you could only use one weapon. But if you start using special tools, I may switch to tooth and claw."

"That's good to know." Sabrina said, and a bubble materialized around her, one her sword could leave but his couldn't enter.

"Now you're thinking, girl!" The Beast congratulated her as his sword hit the barrier and bounced off.

Sabrina was on the offense now, and even though he was stronger than she was, and she had to watch how she moved so that she didn't step out of her shield, she had a fighting chance now. She cut and jabbed for a good five minutes, but she was getting tired, and it was taking more and more energy to hold the shield up. She knew she was eventually either going to have to drop it or take a break.

Taking a break won.

She stood there in her bubble, breathing hard, staring at the stopwatch. Seven minutes left.

That was when the Beast dropped his sword and ran at her.

"Crud." Sabrina muttered, unfurling her wings and flying out of his reach. She hadn't made the shield impervious to flesh.

She dropped the shield completely, since it wasn't doing her any good anymore, and flew back down, touching to the ground lightly, out of reach of the Beast, her sword held up in the guard position.

The Beast chuckled and ran at her again, and they were sparring, Sabrina at a disadvantage, because she had less stamina, and because she was much shorter and lighter, so had less of a reach and less ability to stand her ground when his sword hit hers. She would never be able to even hit him, because his sword was so much longer, and so were his arms. She needed a longer reach-

Sabrina smiled, and ran her thumb over the base of her sword again. It shimmered, growing thinner and longer- much longer. She'd unintentionally had the sword pointed at the Beast as it changed, and it stabbed him before he had a chance to back up.

"Nice." The Beast said approvingly.

Sabrina decided she'd pretend the sword had been aimed that way on purpose.

They fought for several more minutes, and though Sabrina worked hard, she was losing when the time was up.

"Drat." She muttered, looking up at the Beast, who was moments from separating her from her sword. "I was hoping I'd be able to find a way out of that."

"You did." The Beast laughed. "The bell rang. Now get out of here. Go enjoy your summer."

"'Bye!" Sabrina called, trotting out of the room. "See you next fall, Sir!"

* * *

The results for the finals had come in, but Granny wasn't letting any of the children see them.

"Come on, Granny!" Sabrina complained. "I need to make sure I passed!"

"You did, _liebling_." Granny responded. "You all passed all your finals. I don't believe you need to know more than that."

"But why?" Daphne asked. "I'd like to know my actual grades."

"Leave for a minute, would you, children?" Granny asked. "I'd like to talk with your parents alone."

With much complaining, the children filed out, something in Granny's voice preventing Red, Puck, and Bella from protesting that they had no parents in the house.

Of course, as soon as the door was closed, they all clustered around it to listen in. Daphne claimed the keyhole, Red and Bella crouched by the bottom of the door, and Sabrina and Puck both flew towards the top, ending up with their faces pressed inches away from each other. Sabrina tried to ignore the heat in her face and listen to what was being said.

"-Ably listening in right now." Uncle Jake was saying, and he chuckled. "I'd bet twenty bucks they didn't get five feet down the hall before they came back."

"I do hope not, but you're probably right." Granny sighed.

"What is it, Mom?" Henry asked.

"Well, they _did_ all pass everything. Some of them just barely. The older three are almost done with English- Snow predicts they'll finish by the end of the first marking period next year- and they've all finished history with low grades. Bella exceeded expectations in her science class, and even though she's well past the requirement for middle school and some high schools, it's recommended that she keep taking science classes because she has so much potential. The same goes for Puck with math, and of course, since the two subjects go hand in hand, they'll both have to take those two classes together."

Sabrina was shocked to find that she was jealous of Bella for the promise of two classes with Puck next year. Didn't she see enough of that boy without having all the same classes?

"That's not a reason to send them all out, though, is it?" Veronica asked.

"Well, not particularly, aside from the fact that Puck and Bella both got A's in those two subjects, and the others barely passed them all. It's that way for most of the classes, actually. Daphne has a wonderful grade in French and an acceptable grade in English. Red only really excelled in her art class."

"And Sabrina?" Baba Yaga croaked.

"She did well enough in English, like Daphne, but she got the highest grade in gym class out of the whole school, according to Snow."

"What grade?" Henry asked.

"Eighty-nine," Granny said.

Sabrina floated back down to the ground, a little dazed. The highest grade? An eighty-nine was the highest grade? _She'd_ gotten the highest grade? But she'd done horribly on that final!

She looked up and realized that everyone else was staring at her. Daphne looked excited, Red vaguely worried, Bella shocked, and Puck surprised and a little jealous

She nodded her head towards the living room door, and the children all filed in there, just in case the adults came out sometime soon.

When they were all sitting down, she snapped, "What is it?"

"Eighty-nine?" Daphne asked. "But you're so good! You definitely deserved an A!"

"Thanks, Daph, but I didn't do so good against the Beast. I've only had, like, a year of sword training."

"How come _you_ got the highest grade?" Puck complained. "I've had _tons_ more training than you have! And I always beat you when we spar!"

"Maybe because I only had a year of training and I kind of accidentally-on-purpose stabbed him and pretended it wasn't an accident..." Sabrina said.

Puck glared at her. "I'm still better."

"Sure." Sabrina said. "When I've had four thousand years of sword training, then maybe I'll be able to beat you."

"Except by then he'll have had eight thousand years of training." Red pointed out. "So it still wouldn't be a fair fight."

"Good point." Sabrina said. "Maybe I'll have to mess around with time enough that I can catch up..."

"Or you could just practice all the time and prove you're better by beating him without an extra couple thousand year's practice." Daphne suggested. "After the wedding, though."

"But that's over a month from now!" Sabrina complained.

"Use that month to work on your magic stuff." Daphne said. "Now you won't have any schoolwork to get in the way."

"I will." Sabrina promised. "But I need to keep working on my swordplay, too."

She did, and so did the others, throughout the end of June and most of July, because the promised skirmishes never came. They did yardwork, too, because Granny had decided that it would be good for them. They all- except Daphne, for she discovered it hurt her- took their turn mowing the lawn, pulling weeds in the flower beds, and trimming hedges. Sabrina and Puck spent a lot of their time attacking each other with garden tools, and Daphne tried to learn how to coax the plants to grow in the shapes Granny wanted them in in the first place, so that they wouldn't need trimming. Briar finished the wedding plans, and everyone in the wedding party was fitted for their clothes by the Brave Little Tailor. Most of the others simply wore clothes they already had, though Daphne and Puck had to have new things made because they were both taller, and Daphne was slightly thinner.

After their fittings, Sabrina made a face. "How come I'm not getting any taller?" She asked Bella. "I mean, Daphne's growing, Puck's growing, you've grown a little, but I'm still short!"

"No you're not, but I can't count your ribs anymore!" Daphne said brightly, entering the room with a dress over her arm. "It's finished, see?" She held the dress up for the others to admire.

Daphne's dress wasn't actually a dress, more a longish pink tunic with short sleeves, a pair of black leggings decorated with hearts, and a brownish see-through overcoat that reminded Sabrina vaguely of feathers.

"Cute!" Bella declared. "If I didn't already have an outfit, I'd totally want one."

"I wouldn't." Sabrina said. "But it'll look nice on you, Daph."

"I like yours better." Red said. "I don't look good in yellow."

"You look fine." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're too young to start that I-hate-the-way-I-look nonsense."

"She's, like, five hundred years old." Bella pointed out.

"That's too young." Sabrina said. "Any age is too young. You're either pretty or you're not. There's nothing you can do about it, and you shouldn't complain, especially when what you're really doing is fishing for compliments."

Red looked down.

"Now you hurt her feelings!" Daphne said. "And you were complaining five minutes ago that you were too short!"

"Actually, I was complaining that I wasn't growing." Sabrina said. "Sorry, Red. I didn't mean it like that. And I didn't expect you guys to tell me I'm not short. I am."

"It' all right." Red said."

"You _are_ short, Grimm." Puck said, entering the room with his new suit. "Too short, too skinny, and very, very blonde."

"Besides." Sabrina said. "Who needs to criticize their own appearance when we've got Puck to do it for us?"

"He only really makes fun of how you look." Bella said thoughtfully. "Why is that, Puck? She's quite pretty."

"If you say so." Puck shrugged.

"Hah!" Daphne exclaimed. "You just admitted you thought she was pretty!"

"I did not!" Puck snapped. "All I said was 'if you say so!' I never said I thought she was pretty!"

"Notice they're talking about me like I'm not here?" Sabrina muttered to Red as the other three continued to argue. "I hate it when people do that."

Red giggled. "They _are_ trying to make him admit he likes you."

"But he doesn't." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I wish they'd give it up, this is getting embarrassing."

"Leave, then." Red suggested. "They're not talking to you at all, anyway, and you don't want to hear what they're saying."

"Good idea." Sabrina said. "I think I will." She got up and left, unnoticed by anyone but Red and Puck.

"Fine!" Puck snapped after several more minutes of arguing. "Maybe she's not ugly, all right?" He, too, left the room, with considerably more stomping than Sabrina had made.


	52. The Wedding

**_Cool Bean:_ Thank you for reading my whole story! Now, as for the content of your reviews...**

**1. As you will see, having read more of the story, many of your suggestions have already happened, if not in the way you thought. I won't make Henry leave, because that's already been done in other stories, and I need him here. I like Henry.**

**2. I can't believe I missed that. I have to fix it.**

**3. I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone when they ask for Puckabrina: it's coming. Slowly. If I make it any faster, it'll be OOC.**

**4. Mr. Canis and Mr. Clay are the same person, via book six.**

* * *

The wedding day arrived, and with it, the house grew utterly hectic. Sabrina dressed quickly in the same gown she'd worn for the back to school dance and sat down on the front porch to make sure the weather would be perfect.

Baba Yaga joined her a few minutes later as she sat there with her eyes closed, thinking warm, cheerful thoughts.

"That's enough of the happy." Baba Yaga said crankily. "Get rid of the humidity and the rain."

"I'm working on it." Sabrina said absently, working to keep herself calm and not mentioning that the sky was perfectly clear. "It'd be nice if the weather wasn't tied to my emotions."

"I can't do much about that now." Baba Yaga said. "Suppose we ought to have worked with that one a little more."

"Well, it's better." Sabrina said. "I mean, I can tell where the storms are, and there aren't any around here. Probably won't be unless I get angry or someone spells something. I don't know what to do to get rid of humidity. And I'm still not very good at controlling my emotions."

"I'd suggest thinking dry thoughts and avoiding Puck." Baba Yaga said.

"That should go so well, since our seating assignments are next to each other for the reception." Sabrina said wryly. The humidity got noticeably lighter.

"It worked!" Baba Yaga said. "Just keep concentrating on the weather and make sarcastic comments!"

"This is totally the most professional way of working magic in the world." Sabrina said. "And this is why I have to keep those shields up."

"You've gotten stronger." Baba Yaga said as the irritating humidity almost completely disappeared. "Without your mental shield, everything you felt would probably effect the weather, not just your strongest emotions."

"Wonderful." Sabrina said. "As if I didn't have enough crazy powers to worry about. I mean, seriously. Two or three superpowers is enough for one girl."

"Just wait until they start disappearing." Baba Yaga said. "Then you'll wish you had them back."

"With my luck, they'll go away as soon as I get used to them, and right when I need them, too." Sabrina said.

"All right, that's enough dehumidifying." Baba Yaga said. "It's getting a little too dry now. Put your shields back up before you start a fire."

"Yes, ma'am." Sabrina said, complying- mostly. She kept a bit of her mind aware of the weather around her, just to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Hey, Grimm." Puck said, walking onto the porch as Baba Yaga reentered the house. "Wassup?"

"Just working on the weather." Sabrina said, looking up at him. She snorted. "Nice suit."

"A little dry, isn't it?" Puck asked.

"And you just made it more dry." Sabrina said. "You and your suit."

"What does my suit have to do with it?" Puck asked.

"Mostly the fact that I made a sarcastic comment." Sabrina said. "May I point out that my mood is what affects the weather, unless I've got my shields up? Apparently sarcasm and dry air go together."

"So if I wanted it warmer-" Puck said, leaning in very close to Sabrina, who blushed.

The temperature rose, then fell abruptly as Sabrina pushed Puck away from her, a chilly look on her face.

"No." She snapped. "I'm not letting you mess with my moods today. It's their wedding, and I have enough trouble controlling my emotions as it is."

"Fine." Puck pouted playfully, then looked up. "Do I really affect your emotions that much?"

"When you get right up in my face with your garlic breath, yeah." Sabrina said. "Go brush your teeth."

Puck rolled his eyes and reentered the house.

"Way to avoid the question." Bella muttered.

Sabrina spun around and gasped. Bella had been sitting in front of the open living room window, painting her nails. As Sabrina blushed, the air grew warmer again.

"You saw that, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah." Bella grinned. "Why didn't you tell him you liked him?"

"Because I'm not you, and because he doesn't like me that way."

"He sure looked like it to me." Bella said, not looking at Sabrina. "In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say he was going to kiss you."

"He wasn't." Sabrina said. "He was just messing around. It's Puck. Messing around is what he does."

"Still..." Bella said, putting the finishing touches on her left hand and holding it back to admire her work. "I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't pushed him away."

"Nothing, except the weather might have gone haywire." Sabrina responded.

"Girls, are you done?" Veronica asked through the window. "It's time to go."

"Right." Sabrina said. "Can I fly, or do you want me to take the car?"

"Car." Veronica said. "There's been some rumors of Scarlet Hand activity. I don't want you getting hurt."

"All right." Sabrina said, though sometimes she doubted the Scarlet Hand was going to do anything this summer. All the rumors had turned out to be just that, rumors.

"Guys!" Veronica called. "Everyone in the car!"

"Briar's already there, right?" Daphne asked, running out of the house in the general scramble to get to the minivan before all the seats were taken.

Veronica nodded as she, Henry, Sabrina, Puck, Daphne, Red, and Baba Yaga all ended up in the minivan. Bella looked on mournfully, climbing into the jalopy with Granny Relda and Uncle Jake. _Sorry_, Sabrina mouthed. Bella shrugged, and the two cars left for Friar Tuck's chapel.

When they arrived, they were immediately ushered inside by the photographer, an Asian boy Sabrina had seen in one or two of her classes.

"Everybody get together!" The photographer called.

"Do I have to?" Puck was complaining to Granny. "I'm technically not a member of your family."

"Jake?" Granny asked.

"Get in the picture, Puck." Jake said absently, looking at Briar, who, in her yellowish white dress, looked absolutely splendid and more beautiful than usual.

"She gives you a run for your money today." Daphne told Snow.

"Thanks so much." Snow muttered dryly.

"Sorry." Daphne apologized, embarrassed.

Snow laughed a little. "It's true. But try to learn some tact, Daphne."

"People!" The photographer called, "Get in the photo!"

The photo-taking lasted for a good hour, and then everyone was finally able to either sit down or go to the room where the final preparations for the wedding were in progress. Sabrina sat in the second row and watched Briar walk down the aisle, a bouquet of roses in her hand. She had a look on her face, as if she'd finally reached her greatest happiness, like nothing in the world could be better than that moment. And when she kissed Uncle Jake, the utter rapture on their faces made it hard for Sabrina to look at them. It felt like she was intruding on something so special and personal, she was stealing something. Even Puck looked respectful for once.

And suddenly it was over, and everyone was heading back to the house for the reception.

"That was nice." Daphne said with a smile. "Hey, are they going on a honeymoon?"

"I don't think so." Sabrina said. "It's not like they can really leave..."

"So they're just coming home?" Henry asked. "Don't they want a night to themselves?"

"They're in the attic." Veronica said. "That's about as private as you can get in this house."

"Is everything set up for the reception?" Red asked, changing the subject. "Decorations, weather, food...?"

"Yes, ask Sabrina, and yes." Veronica said.

Sabrina was checking the weather at that very moment and said absently, "It's a little too warm for some reason... Especially close to town."

"So fix it." Puck said nonchalantly.

"It's not that easy." Sabrina said icily, and the temperature dropped.

"Apparently it is." Puck grinned at her.

"Well, I made it cold here, but I don't know if it did anything outside the car." Sabrina pointed out as Henry pulled into the driveway.

"Not that it matters." Daphne said, getting out of the car. "If it's warm somewhere else, you can just fix it when you get there."

"Or here." Red said. "Since there is here now."

"Whatever." Sabrina said. "It's not too warm anyway, so it doesn't matter."

"Come on." Veronica said. "It's time to set out the food."

She led the way into the kitchen, and the others followed her, all of them exiting again a minute or two later, laden with food. They set it on the buffet table, then went to their seating assignments, which everyone had worked on for hours to keep enemies from sitting next to each other, because just because two people weren't in the Scarlet Hand, that didn't mean they didn't have some old feud, and it took a good deal of diplomacy to keep them from ending up anywhere near each other.

The guests began to arrive, and the reception quickly developed into a lively party, though there were a few issues with the weather, which kept fluctuating. This embarassed Sabrina, which just made the temperature go up even more. Puck enjoyed making Sabrina react, and Red quietly dubbed him the thermostat, much to Daphne's amusement.

The party was in full swing when it all went wrong.

Sabrina first noticed the impending tragedy when the heat she'd felt earlier crept closer and closer to the house. She tried to fix it, but the strangely solid clumps of warmth refused to change their temperature. Next, a speck appeared in the sky, far off, but getting closer and larger by the second.

By the time Sabrina realized what she was seeing, and, more importantly, could believe it, it was too late. The attack was upon them.

"Dragons!" Sabrina screeched, and dozens of others took up the cry.

One of the dragons landed, and off of his- her? Sabrina couldn't tell. Whichever. Off the dragon's back stepped a tall, thin fairy woman.

"Mab." Puck whispered in Sabrina's ear. "Queen of Fae."

Briar was staring at Mab in horror, and Mab, noticing her gaze, smiled cruelly at her.

"You didn't invite me to your wedding, dear." Mab said. "And you know how I _hate_ not being invited to things!"

She raised her hands, and the dragons lifted off again, dropping their riders to the ground, some of whom had only been half off. They picked themselves off the ground and began to attack the guests.

They almost didn't have to, the dragons were wreaking so much havoc. They crushed plants, knocked over furniture, and, most of all, burnt things.

Daphne screamed in pain as the trees caught fire, and Sabrina's head whipped around. She cursed herself for leaving her sword in the house, and the temperature rose. That was no good. She concentrated on calming herself, trying to bring the temperature down.

"Worry about the weather later!" Puck shouted, holding a lawn chair and trying to fight off a Scarlet Hand member.

Sabrina was searching for something to fight with when she caught sight of the dragon heading for the house. She shot her hand out, a reflex reaction, and was shocked when she saw the barrier form around the building, appearing almost effortlessly.

"That's my girl!" Baba Yaga cackled, fighting from inside the chicken-house, which had appeared out of nowhere. Her voice suddenly magically amplified, she called, "Everyone inside the house!"

Sabrina manipulated the barrier almost instantaneously, _ordering_ it to let the wedding guests inside. She turned back to the fight and concentrated on the earth beneath their feet. She yanked at it, and it complied, shaking, making all those who couldn't fly and some of those who could lose their footing instantaneously as everyone fought to get to the house.

Baba Yaga was shaken from her house in the commotion, and it reached the inside of the barrier before she did. Daphne was safely inside, as was most of the rest of the family. In fact, only Baba Yaga, Briar, and a few stragglers were left outside the safe zone.

"Not this time, girl!" Mab shouted from dragonback, steering the beast towards Briar. "I failed to kill you once, I won't do it again!"

Mab and her dragon were headed for Briar, and time seemed to slow down, all by itself, without Sabrina's assistance. If she'd been paying more attention, she would have seen Baba Yaga, the only one close enough to do anything, look at Daphne. She'd have Seen Daphne, tears already flowing down her face, give a nod of confirmation. And she'd have seen Baba Yaga smile grimly and nod back before turning to Briar and _shoving_.

She shoved Briar so hard she nearly flew several feet, and had time to scramble up and run into the safety of the barrier before Mab's attention turned away from Baba Yaga.

The dragon, to be honest, couldn't care less who it burned, so long as it was destroying something. So despite Mab's shouts of, "What are you doing, you fool? We want the princess! The _princess_, not that _hag_!" It continued on its path, and the fire that was already forming in its belly shot out, surrounding Baba Yaga in flames.

When the smoke cleared, everyone not in the Scarlet Hand was inside the barrier, and the dragons were flying off, the humans in the Scarlet Hand calling rude things at the others from the backs of their dragons.

Sabrina didn't wait until she was sure they were really gone to run out to where Baba Yaga had been, nor did Mr. Clay or Briar. The others followed after, and everyone not actively in the Scarlet Hand had effectively congregated in the Grimm's front yard to see the witch and find if she was dead.

"Girl." Baba Yaga croaked.

Sabrina looked at her, overjoyed that she was alive, despite everything, despite the fact that her flesh looked like an overcooked marshmallow, despite the disgusting scent of cooked meat that wafted off the old hag's body.

"We'll fix you." Mr. Clay whispered. "I'll get jake, he'll-"

"No." Baba Yaga said. "I'm dying. Nothing will save me now, not the strongest magic in the world. So listen close. There's a will in the house, under the left cushion of my couch. And Canis- or Clay, whatever you're going by these days- I love you, and I always..." She trailed off, and her eyes closed. She breathed out, and never breathed back in.

Sabrina and Mr. Clay stared down in horror, and Sabrina was utterly embarassed to find tears running down her cheeks.

"Hey." Puck whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Shh, shh."

Sabrina let out a sob, and turned into Puck's chest, crying openly in the front yard of her house, surrounded by the burning wreckage of what had once been a forest, standing next to the body of a woman who she'd been more fond of than she'd realized. And as she cried, the rains came. The clouds drew in from all directions, coming from miles away, and the skies cried with Sabrina.

Mr. Clay stood simply staring at Baba Yaga's body.

"Old friend." Granny said, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder.

Mr. Clay shook it off angrily.

"I know what you're going through, you know." Granny said. "I've lost my love, too."

At that, Mr. Clay turned and cried into Relda's shoulder, mourning the only woman he'd ever loved.

Not everyone cried, of course. There were quite a few who were glad to see the old hag go, for she had never been fond of people, nor they of her. But the animals and the Grimms, they mourned for her, and if Baba Yaga was watching, she would have been utterly shocked that anyone cried for her at all.


	53. Recovery

**AN~ Holy Shamoley, it's been a while. Sorry 'bout that, but my computer died and I was using my dad's office computer with limited hours, and then there were, like, TONS of finished stories, and I try to read them all and review, and I took forever to finish.**

**_nameless-and-anonymous-reviewer:_ Or do you prefer to be called ()? See above. ^.^**

**_COOL:_ Suck-up. :) I get that I've been gone a while.**

**_Cool Bean:_ I'm fine with answering questions, and I'm glad you like my story!**

**1. Because it felt necessary, and I refused to kill Briar. Besides, my grandpa died recently and this is a coping mechanism.**

**2. I really don't know. I guess she called it and it came...**

**_mandolindoodler:_ Mab doesn't know about Puck's promise yet. Moth is being weird and still hoping Puck will fall for her on his own. And I decided that Mab would be Briar's evil fairy cursemonger because I found no concrete evidence that her name was actually Maleficent.**

**_NinjaKittyEpicness:_ Well, the Baba YagaxMr. Canis/Clay has been here for two or three chapters now. Why is everyone against this pairing? I think it's cute! In an old people kind of way...**

**_RandomPerson:_ I'm glad you like it!**

* * *

There were no more attacks that summer. Sabrina was honestly a little disappointed. She would have loved the chance to avenge her mentor, or even just something to distract her from the constant reminders that Baba Yaga was _gone_.

But life had to go on, so she found ways to keep herself busy.

The funeral wasn't an elaborate event; Friar Tuck performed the ceremony the day after Briar and Jake got married, and only a few people showed up, but more did than Sabrina had expected. Baba Yaga had made enemies, and she'd ostracized herself from the rest of Ferryport Landing by putting up the barrier. But several other witches showed up, and Sabrina realized that maybe Baba Yaga wouldn't have been so unpopular if she hadn't gone out of her way to be nasty.

Robin Hood came to the house a few days later, after Granny called him to ask about the will. He sat down at the dining room table with the family around him, the will on the table in front of him.

"All right," He began, clearing his throat. "We all know why I'm here today, and... well, I'll just get down to reading the will.

_"'Being the last will and testament of one Baba Yaga:_

_"Having never had occasion to write a will before, I suppose I simply tell what out of my possessions I want to go to whom._

_"To Sabrina Grimm: I leave my house, which she already holds the key to, and the instruction to keep practicing._

_"To Daphne and Jake Grimm: I leave my magical supplies, potions, and the like, for them to divide amongst themselves._

_"To Relda Grimm: I leave my books, to add to her own enormous protection, and my sincerest thanks for taking me in, along with her other homeless waifs, when she had no need to do so._

_"To Puck, the heir to the throne of Faerie: I leave my bone garden and the contents of my refrigerator, in hopes that he will enjoy them._

_"And lastly, to Tobias 'Canis' Clay: I leave the remains of my worldly possessions and the knowledge that he was the only one I ever loved._

"That's it." Robin Hood finished. "I'm really sorry, everyone. I don't read many wills in this business, 'cause I deal mostly with everafters and all, so I don't really know what to say, but know that you have my sincerest apologies. I didn't like the old hag, very few of us did, but... I can tell you feel differently."

Sabrina nodded, too stunned to speak. She owned the house? The house?

"Thank you." Granny said to Robin. "We appreciate this."

Robin walked out then, patting Daphne, who was crying, on the head.

Veronica reached over and gave Daphne a hug.

"It was just-" Daphne blubbered, "That sounded so much like _her_."

"I know, sweetheart." Veronica said. "I know."

Sabrina got up abruptly and walked out of the room, trying not to look like she was in a hurry. She walked outside onto the porch and watched Robin walk away for a minute before the door opened behind her.

Puck joined her at the porch railing and was quiet for a minute before he said, "You left again."

Sabrina didn't say anything.

"You're going to have to deal with this someday, Grimm." Puck said. "You can't run away from her memory forever."

"Well, I'll put it off for as long as I can, then." Sabrina said. "'Cause it just hurts too much otherwise."

"I know." Puck said.

"I haven't really been avoiding it." Sabrina said. "But I don't like to cry in front of people. I mean, I'm Sabrina Grimm! I don't cry. I can't cry in front of Daphne, 'cause I have to be strong for her, and it feels weird to cry with my parents. I'm barely used to having them in my life again. Same with Granny. So I just try not to think about her in front of other people."

"I know." Puck said again. "And I don't want you to cry on me or anything. That's just creepy. And gross, and it would make my shirt wet and give me cooties. But if you just bottle it up, it'll come back and bite you in the butt in a month or two. Trust me."

"How long does it keep hurting?" Sabrina asked.

"A long time." Puck said. "I don't know if it's something you can ever really get over. I mean, I thought I hated my dad, and I still miss him."

"It must be hard." Sabrina said. "You never got to say goodbye, and you the last you saw of him you were really angry..."

"I can deal." Puck said. "Besides, I don't want to make Scrooge call him up from the grave or anything. Let him rest in peace."

Sabrina thought for a minute "You know what?" She asked. "I agree. I mean, it was one thing when it was a case and important that he talk. But the dead should stay dead. And I think I'll have to wait until I'm dead to see them again."

"Well, you'll be waiting for an awfully long time, then." Puck said. "'Cause I'm still your bodyguard, and I have no plans to let you die anytime soon."

"Fine by me." Sabrina said. "Now, I probably ought to go see about that house I inherited, hadn't I?"

"Might be a good idea." Puck said.

* * *

"Red?"

Red looked up from her drawing to see Briar and Jake standing in front of her.

"We'd like to talk to you, sweetie." Briar said, sitting down.

"Okay." Red said shyly. "What is it?"

"It's- well," Briar said, "It's very hard for everafters to have children, you know that. I don't know why, but Jake has a theory. Anyway, we were talking, and we'd really like to have a family, but since I probably won't have children, it seemed unlikely, but then-"

"We thought of you." Jake said.

"What?" Red asked. This didn't make sense.

"Well, you don't have parents, and we don't have a daughter, so we'd be the perfect fit!" Briar said, sounding nervous.

Red just looked at them, not sure she'd heard right. "Are you saying you want to adopt me?" She asked at last.

"Yes, we are." Briar said. "That is, if you'd like us to, and if we can get the paperwork. Would you- do you want to be part of our family?"

Red smiled bigger than she could remember smiling since before she was crazy. "I'd love to!" She said.

"Good." Jake said. "I'll see about making it legal as soon as I can."

"You don't have to call us mom and dad if that's too weird." Briar said. "I understand completely if you don't."

"Can I call you mommy Briar?" Red asked. "It'll be easier."

"Of course, sweetheart!" Briar smiled.

* * *

The house was grieving, too. Sabrina could tell from the moment she walked in. It creaked and groaned and made an assortment of plaintive noises, and there was an air of abandonment about it. She put a hand on the wall and another on the key Baba Yaga had given her for Christmas, which hung around her neck along with Puck's necklace.

"I know." She whispered. "She's gone now. But you still have me. I'll take care of you as well as she did."

"I hope you take better care of it." Puck said, looking around at the grime.

Granny, who had accompanied the two on their search for the house, looked up excitedly. "That's it!" She exclaimed.

"What's it?" Sabrina asked warily.

"We'll spend the rest of the summer cleaning out the house." Granny said. "We can all use a project, and this house could certainly use some work. It'll keep us busy and get our minds off the war for a bit."

"I thought you wanted us working on _our_ house." Sabrina said. "You said it needed to be painted, and the attic needed to be cleaned out, and the books needed to be organized, and the basement-"

"Most of that can be done over the winter." Granny said. "But you own a house now, Sabrina. You can't just let it go to waste. Besides, the rest of us need to rescue our things from inside."

"About that whole letting it go to waste thing." Sabrina started. "I was thinking... could I loan the house to Briar and Uncle Jake? As a wedding present? 'Cause they can't live in the attic forever."

"I'm not sure the house would like that." Granny said. "But maybe... Mirror and your parents have made some complaints about sharing a room."

"Someone ought to stay out here." Sabrina said. "It seems like a bit of a waste to have this whole big house and nobody to live in it."

"But first we clean." Granny said firmly.

Her orders were carried out. The family Grimm spent the rest of their summer working with Baba Yaga's inheritance. Puck redesigned the house's interior, using the small space he had to work with to the best possible advantage while the rest of the family cleaned the house out, putting the books in the living room, the magical materials in Mirror and Uncle Jake's pockets, respectively, and debating over what to do with the refrigerator and its contents. Sabrina solved the issue by simply levitating the entire fridge into Puck's room.

Afterwards, they cleaned, which in itself, took about a week, and terrified everyone but Puck. Then they used Puck's plans to reconstruct the entire interior. Once they were finished, the house was a cheerful yellow color outside, with three rooms (a bathroom, a bedroom, and a big kitchen/dining room/ living room) downstairs and a loft, all painted in different bright, cheery colors.

The other project that consumed the rest of the summer was Uncle Jake and Briar's struggle to adopt Red. They, with the help of much magic, managed to do so by the time Sabrina's house was finished, and she approached them about living in it.

"I think you guys need your own place." She told them.

"But we have our room." Uncle Jake pointed out.

"You have a half-finished attic and Mr. Clay's old room." Sabrina said. "And Granny said she's going to keep moving refugees in here, so Puck might take up more attic soon. I think you two and Red should go live in the chicken house, and Mom and Dad can have your attic, or Daphne and I could take it, and then Red and Bella won't have to share anymore, and we have a room for Mirror again, which is a good thing since Mirror does _not_ like watching my parents get dressed every morning."

"All right." Uncle Jake said, after he'd talked with Briar for several minutes. "We'll do it. But it doesn't seem right."

"Think of it as my wedding present to you." Sabrina suggested. "I'm loaning you a house until I'm ready for my own place. By then you might have outgrown it, anyway."

Briar laughed. "I doubt it. Puck did a good job."

"He's good at designing." Sabrina said dryly. "You should see some of the traps he's cooked up."

Uncle Jake laughed. "I have seen some of them. And you have a point. If the boy just used his brain sometimes, instead of slacking off, he could be brilliant."

"He is." Briar said. "Just not brilliant at what he should be trying to be."

"Did that make sense?" Sabrina asked.

"I thought so." Jake responded, nuzzling Briar's neck.

Sabrina made a face. "Gross." She said, "I'm getting out of here. See you, lovebirds."

She walked out of the living room and almost ran into Snow, who was standing in the hallway.

"Hi, Sabrina." Snow said cheerfully.

"Hey." Sabrina said. "What are you doing here? No offense."

"None taken." Snow laughed. "I'm here to give you guys your schedules."

"Really?" Sabrina asked. "It's time for school again? Wow. Summer went fast."

"It did at that." Snow smiled. "How was your summer?"

"Busy." Sabrina said with a shrug. "It was kind of on-purpose, though, so I guess it's all right."

"How are you all holding up?" Snow asked sympathetically.

"Some of us better than others." Sabrina said.

"And where exactly do you fall?" Snow asked.

"I'm an others." Sabrina said quietly. "But I'm getting over it."

"I'm here if you ever need to talk." Snow offered. "I know she was like a grandmother to you."

Sabrina laughed hollowly, her eyes glistening. "Thanks, but I've had so many people offering to listen to me cry recently that I might as well go on Oprah so that everyone can hear it. Granny!" She called suddenly. "Snow's here with the school stuff!"

"Be down in a minute!" Granny called.

"Should I call everyone else in?" Sabrina asked.

"No." Granny said. "I don't think we'll all fit. If Snow needs them, we can get them later."

"Oh." Sabrina said, blushing. "Right." She'd forgotten just how big the family was.

Snow laughed as Granny entered the hallway.

"Come have a seat, Snow." Granny greeted her cheerfully.

"Gladly." Snow followed Granny into the empty kitchen, and Sabrina trailed along behind, hiding behind the wall by the kitchen door to snoop. Daphne quickly joined her.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Sabrina, just come in and have a seat." Granny said with a sigh. "You don't have to skulk like that. It's not like you won't know all this in an hour or two anyway."

Snow snickered as Sabrina entered the room and sat down at the table, blushing again. "It's not funny." She snapped at Snow.

"Yes it is." Snow sniggered. "You're so predictable, Sabrina. Any time there's any news, you're hiding in the background somewhere, snooping. Why don't you ever ask to come in?"

"Habit." Sabrina shrugged. "And I guess I'll have to change it up a bit, since I'm so predictable. By the way, Daphne's back there too."

"Snitch." Daphne muttered, appearing from the same place Sabrina had been.

Sabrina shrugged. "Hey, I get in trouble, you get in trouble. Granny?"

"Yes,_ liebling_?" Granny asked.

"Would you have known I was there, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm always there?"

"No." Granny smiled. "You didn't make a sound."

Sabrina pumped her fist and stage-whispered "_Yes_!" while sticking her tongue out at Daphne. "Told you I'd gotten better."

"Yeah, whatever." Daphne muttered. "Can we just get to talking?"

Snow giggled. "I don't know, I was having fun. But all right. Relda, how many of you are planning on enrolling this year?"

"All of us." Granny said. "That's..."

"Nine?" Sabrina asked, counting on her fingers. "There's you, me, Daph, Puck, Bella, Red, Mom and Dad, Uncle Jake... no, ten. I forgot Briar. Is she going?"

"Yes." Granny said. "Do we need more payment, Snow?"

"Well, actually, the only thing we really need is teachers." Snow said. "We've got the building, the not-teaching staff, the supplies..."

"So you want us to teach?" Daphne asked, excited.

"Yes." Snow said. "Specifically, I want you and Sabrina to teach."

"Say what?" Sabrina blinked. She must have heard wrong.

"I want you to teach." Snow repeated.


	54. Teachers

**_Curlscat-is-numba-1:_ I appreciate that. :D Like, a lot. Thanks for the major ego boost.**

**_():_ - Dude, that looks like a face! Lol. It's not done, relax. It's epicly long and when it IS done, I'll mark it complete.**

**the other _():_ Thanks for the long review! Not sure how to reply to it, but I DID enjoy it. So much nicer than one sentence.**

**_()_ the third(or first... whichever... one of you.): Jeesh, is it that hard for you people to think up names? Thanks for the review!**

**_COOL AKA justkeepswimmin:_ Do you have an account? I'm confused...**

**_mimimustrule:_ Thanks for the reviews! I personally like her with bird wings. Think angels. Versus giant bug wings...**

**_Cool Bean:_ I'm slightly surprised that you're eleven. You seem more mature than that. But who am I to judge? I'm glad SOMEONE likes the Baba Yaga/Canis stuff. ^^ I DO plan on becoming a legitimate writer, by the way.**

**_Nomadgirl12:_ Thanks for the review!**

* * *

"I can't teach!" Sabrina protested. "I barely passed that class!"

"Nobody got above a C in teacher certification, and Ms. Smirt hates you." Snow pointed out.

"What would I teach about?" Sabrina asked. "What do _I_ know that someone else can't explain better?"

"Ummm..." Daphne said, "You're prety good at sneaking."

"A class on sneaking?" Sabrina asked skeptically. "Because _soooo_ many people would want to take that. Besides, I'm not sure I want to give away my trade secrets!"

"Come on, Sabrina." Granny grinned. "It might be fun!"

"But I don't _want_ to!" Sabrina wailed.

"Why not?" Daphne asked. "I want to!"

"Because I don't like standing up in front of people and talking!" Sabrina said.

"Maybe you could teach a class together." Granny suggested.

"Ooooh!" Daphne squealed. "We should so totally do that!"

"Again I ask, what would we teach about?" Sabrina asked. "Not that I'm agreeing to do it, but if we did..."

"I don't know." Daphne shrugged.

"See, the issue is that everyone in this town is, like, centuries old." Sabrina said. "And they just know more than we do because they've been alive longer. It's a fact. So we don't really have that much to teach them."

"While I do think it would be a good experience for the girls, standing up in front of people and all that," Granny pointed out, "Might it not be best to concentrate on their own educations for the time being?"

"You do have a point there." Snow said thoughtfully. "But I do want them teaching. Perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?" Sabrina asked warily.

"What if I were to create a class where everyone has to teach?" Snow asked. "Since the whole school's certified, I wouldn't even need a real teacher in the room! Just one or two classes each, on anything at all!"

"Like the study group, but in school?" Sabrina asked.

"Exactly like." Snow smiled. "There'd be... hmm... Your study group's quite large, yes? But you all work well together. And the Hand has a counter group, and then there's a large group of neutrals... Three classes!"

"Why three?" Daphne asked.

"Because I can't stick the neutrals in your class, it'll be big enough as it is." Snow said. "And I can't stick them in with the hand, that'll be just as big, and I want to minimize the damage."

"Oh." Daphne said, then, "Wait. What about the grown-ups?"

"In with your class or elsewhere, I suppose." Snow said with a sigh. "Not quite sure where I'll put them all, but... Anyway, about the rest of your schedules."

"Yes, about them." Granny said. "Should I call the others in?"

"No, I've got them about sorted out." Snow smiled. "Bella and Puck will, of course, be continuing with advanced science and math courses, and everyone's taking English and History. Red will be invovled in art of some sort. They have the necessary classes, of course, and with the necessary courses, there's still room for one elective for the Puck and Bella, but I'll have to wait until I have the complete course list to sort them out."

"But what about us?" Daphne asked, bouncing a little in her seat.

In response, Snow handed Daphne and Sabrina each a sheet of paper. "This is just a preliminary idea. The courses might change."

"Umm... Snow?" Sabrina asked. Most of her schedule was predictable, but... "You've got me down for two gym classes."

"Right." Snow smiled. "The Beast recommended you for an advanced course, sort of like the ROTC for Ferryport Landing."

"The what?" Daphne whispered to Sabrina.

"It stands for Reserve Officer's Training Corps." Sabrina whispered back. "It's for the army, you go into it during college and you come out a fully trained officer instead of a private."

"Oh." Daphne said.

Sabrina got the feeling she still didn't understand all the way, but she had more important things to focus on at the moment.

"Are you sure you didn't mishear?" Sabrina asked. "Or maybe he made a mistake or something..."

"Sabrina, you got a B on his final." Snow pointed out. "You were one of maybe six students in the school to get a grade that high."

"So it's just the ones who got good grades on the final?" Sabrina asked.

"You'd have to ask him that." Snow said with a shrug.

"I will." Sabrina said, standing. She turned to leave, then looked back at Granny. "...If that's OK, I mean."

"Take Puck with you." Granny said. "Unless you want someone to drive you."

"No." Sabrina smiled slightly. "It's a nice day. I'll fly. _Puck_!" This last was shouted.

"What, Grimm?" Puck appeared from around the corner where Sabrina and Daphne had hidden shortly before. "You don't need to shout, I'm right here."

"I'd say something about you being a snoop, but-" Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you heard?"

"Yeah." Puck grinned crookedly at her. "Let's fly."

"Race you to the school!" Sabrina called, running down the hall.

"No fair!" Puck complained, following after. "You got a head start!"

What's the matter, fairyboy?" Sabrina called back, slamming through the door, unfurling her wings as she jumped off the front porch. "Can't keep up?"

"You wish!" Puck, not two steps behind her, put on a burst of speed and appeared at her side.

He sped ahead of her, his wings nothing more than a slight blur above his shoulders, and Sabrina, laughing, tried to keep up. She knew there was no way she'd really be able to, unless she cheated and stopped time. After all, she'd seen how fast he could move when he wanted to. But still, it was the chase itself that was fun. And she kept hoping someday she'd get faster. Maybe fast enough that they'd tie, and it wouldn't be a competition anymore, just two friends... or more than friends, maybe, just flying together. Quality time, without the competitiveness.

He didn't leave her in the dust, of course. He was her babysitter, even if neither of them wanted to admit it, so he kept just far enough ahead that he could get back quickly, but was still obviously beating her. Sometimes he fell back and sped up again, or even flew circles around her, just to shake things up.

"You know what?" Sabrina huffed, slowing to a hover when they were about halfway there, "I give up."

"You... what?" Puck asked, backtracking.

"I give up." Sabrina repeated. "Your wings are built differently, and we both know you can fly about fifty times faster than me. I'm tired of tiring- bad pun sorry, anyway, I'm wearing myself out trying to keep up with you when we both know it's impossible. You can show off just as well if I go slower, and this way I'll still have my energy left when we get there."

Puck made a face. "That takes all the fun out of beating you, if you don't _try_."

"Can't we just... fly?" Sabrina asked, starting forward again, more slowly this time. "I mean, does it have to be a competition? It's a beautiful day, and I can't see any of it if we're racing."

Puck looked at her oddly. "Never thought I'd see the day that Sabrina Grimm turned down a competition."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm growing up."

"I hate growing up." Puck told her.

"Then why do you?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "I dunno, really. I guess..." He was blushing. "Don't ever tell anyone I said this, but you probably had something to do with it."

"Why on earth would I tell?" Sabrina asked "But... what did I do?"

"How should I know?" Puck exploded, but quietly. "I mean, one day I'm just going along, minding my own business, then you appear and suddenly my voice is cracking and I'm getting taller and my face has little red bumps on it and I'm growing hair in places there never was before and- what?"

"Bad images." Sabrina, whose face was roughly the shade of a tomato, said nothing more.

Puck started blushing, too. "Anyway," He said, "I don't _want_ to be growing up! But it just sort of keeps happening, and as near as I can figure, you're the catalyst. 'Cause Daphne's too young. I don't suppose you'd consider... stopping?"

"Stopping, like, not groing up anymore?" Sabrina asked.

Puck nodded. "If you did, maybe I could, too."

For a minute, Sabrina honestly thought about it. It would be nice not to have to worry about growing up. To stay a kid forever, to stop her body changing without giving her fair notice, to not have to worry about being the oldest and the mature one all the time...

But... to stay powerless forever? To never fully develop? Stuck being looked down on by all the adults, with no control in her own destiny?

"I... I can't." Sabrina apologized. "I almost could, really. And I don't want to make you grow up. But I'm tired of adults looking down at me just because I'm short. Even if I was actually, like, fifty, my dad would still try to control me if I looked thirteen. I'm sorry."

Puck sighed. "I figured. But there's no harm in asking. And if you ever want to change your mind..."

"Maybe." Sabrina said. "Getting old doesn't sound too great. But for now... I really am sorry, by the way."

Puck smiled crookedly at her. "I knew you wouldn't stop aging. It's who you are."

They'd arrived at the school by then. They touched down and were walking in the doors when Sabrina stopped short.

Puck pulled her out of the way of the door before it shut on her face, rolling his eyes, and asked, "What?"

"Do you know where he lives?" Sabrina asked.

"Ummm... no." Puck said. "I figured you did."

"Well, then I guess we just wander around and see if anyone can tell us which room he's in..." Sabrina said.

"Hey!" Sabrina and Puck turned to see Wendell jogging up to them. "Haven't seen you two in a while! How've you been?"

"Busy." Puck said. "Working on the house and stuff. You?"

"What house?" Wendell asked, oblious. "I thought yours seemed perfectly fine last time I was there."

"Ehm..." Puck cleared his throat and looked at Sabrina, who had suddenly become very interested in a speck of dirt on the nearest window, "It's... Baba Yaga's old house. Sabrina inherited it, and we've all been working on fixing it up. It was a wreck. Awesome, but not really her tastes, you know?"

"Oh." Wendell said shortly. "Right. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Sabrina said, faking a breezy attitude. "It's not like you were close to her or anything. So what have you been up to?"

Wendell, taken aback by the sudden change in topic, studdered, "Well, uh... I've been training, mostly. With music. And weapons, but I'm not very good at them, so I mostly stick to music. I can play five different instruments now!" He boasted.

"Nice." Puck traded high fives with Wendell, then said, "Listen, we're actually here to see the Beast. Can you-"

"The Beast?" Wendell made a face. "Why?"

"He messed up my schedule and I want to find out why." Sabrina said. "So can you show us where his rooms are?"

"Sure." Wendell said, starting off. "It's right by my family's apratment."

Sabrina and Puck followed after, jogging the first few steps to catch up.

"What exactly is wrong with your schedule?" Wendell asked on the way. "And why didn't you just talk to Snow about it?"

"He signed me up for the advanced class." Sabrina said shortly.

"And the issue with that is...?" Wendell asked.

"That's what I want to know!" Puck exclaimed.

"Why would he put me in that class?" Sabrina asked.

"Duh." Puck rolled his eyes. "He thinks you're good."

"Whatever." Sabrina said. "I think there's about fifty better choices for that class than me."

"Like who?" Puck asked.

"You, for example." Sabrina suggested.

Puck snorted. "Whatever, Grimm."

"We're here." Wendell interrupted.

The two turned and found that he'd stopped several steps ago and they hadn't noticed.

"Oops." Sabrina blushed. "Thanks, Wendell."

"No problem!" Wendell grinned, heading off in the opposite direction. "Tell Bella I say 'hi'!"

"Will do!" Sabrina called back, then turned to knock on the door.

They waited there for several minutes before a very groggy and disheveled looking Beast opened the door.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly.

"Why'd you sign me up for that class?" Sabrina asked. If he was going to be blunt, then so would she.

The Beast sighed. "You'd better come in." He stepped back from the door and held it for the two teens before going and sitting down on a tattered armchair. He gestured to the equally battered couch and said, "Sit."

They sat.

"Tell me, Grimm," the Beast said, "Why don't you think you belong in the advanced class?"

"Because I've been training for one year. I haven't even known about everafters for two, and because I'm nowhere near as good as most of the people in this town."

"True." The Beast said. "All of that is true."

"So why-"

"Don't interrupt me, girl!" The Beast snapped. "You may not have experience, but you've come farther in the time I've been teaching you than most people come in three years, or more! You're resourceful, you're street smart, you're practical, you can think on your feet, and you pick things up fast. In another year, if you train hard enough, you could be as good a swordsman as most of the other people I know. You have this spark, Grimm... You're a natural leader, you have the drive you need to go far, and you have a way of looking at things that most other people don't have."

Sabrina sat speechless for a few minutes, then asked, "Are you done?"

"Until you give me more to argue against." The Beast responded.

"Don't." Puck advised. "He's right. You may be an idiot sometimes, but you're smart when you keep your head clear."

"Umm... thanks?" Sabrina said, then sighed. "Fine. I'll take the class. Two things, though."

"Which are?" The Beast cocked an eyebrow at her.

"First off, why me?" Sabrina asked. "I mean, maybe I'm talented, but... you're in the Scarlet Hand. And I'm not. I can't be. They'd kill my family. And me, too. We're enemies. Why are you helping me?"

"You would ask that." The Beast sighed, and the fire left his eyes for a minute. "Because I see myself in you. Because in here, we're in neutral territory. Because Snow did me a favor giving me a place to live after my wife kicked me out, and I'm passing the favor on to you. Because I want out, and I'm determined to get out in the world again, no matter what it takes, but I have some honor. I will not slaughter defenseless children, and I will do my best to prepare you. You may still die, but it won't be my fault. I've seen enough death."

Sabrina was quiet again, taking in that information. It was more than she'd expected him to share, more than she deserved to know. But it made her respect him all the more.

"What's your second question?" The Beast asked gruffly, after a long pause.

"Who else is in the class?" Sabrina asked.

"Natalie, some faries that are very good with their swords, two princes, and Moth." The Beast said, glad to have an easy question to answer.

"I want Puck there." Sabrina said.

"What?" Puck wrinkled his forehead. "Me? Why?"

"Exactly my question." The Beast rolled his eyes.

"Because, of my three favorite students here, Daphne's not good enough, Bella wouldn't want to be there, and you belong there."

"Puck can't follow the rules." The Beast said.

"Puck is a talented swordsman, an inventor, and he has leadership qualities. If you want a class of people with outstanding battle strenghts, he belongs there." Sabrina snapped. "And besides, I refuse to be in a class where I have no friends and two enemies."

"What if I don't want to be in that class?" Puck asked innocently.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Please. Besides, you have a hole in your schedule. Snow said so. It fits!"

"Fine." The Beast said. "I'll talk to Snow about it, all right?"

"Sweet!" Sabrina jumped up. "Thanks, Sir! I'll see you soon!" She and Puck were out the door again in seconds, leaving a slighlty amused and bewildered Beast behind them.


	55. The Emerald Foot

**AN~ Those of you who just want the story, skip the AN, it's not important and really long.**

**Cool Bean of the not-logged-in sort: British is the best.**

**Lara D, also of the not-logged-in sort: Yeah... I don't know why I did that. Apparently Moth has a previously-unknown ability to be a superfighter.**

**This extremely long review reply goes to purrrple1, who reviewed every single chapter of the whole story. I dedicate this chapter to her, and respond with a number corresponding to the chapter the review came from:**

**55: That's not the pairing, that's the main characters. It'd be a pretty screwy pairing.**

**47: A sling is just a piece of cloth folded in half with a rock in it. A slingshot is a y-shaped stick with a rubber band or something in the y, and the rock goes there. Slingshots are much easier to aim.**

**45: I kind of just made that necklace up. I don't know if anyone actually makes necklaces like that.**

**44: (And all other times you told me to spellcheck) I know. I'm sorry. And editing.**

**42: Daphne will be a something else. I don't know what, exactly.**

**36: That'd be not there at all on the quotation marks. Fanfiction's wordprocessor deleted them.**

**32: It's a Jesus camp, and the school only sounds racist if you think that way. :) It's named after Snow White, but I just used her last name.**

**30: I'm pretty sure Shakespeare isn't an everafter, he just wrote about them, kind of like the Brothers Grimm.**

**24: Alice's Cat is the Cheshire Cat, and MB put him in the Scarlet Hand, so he hates the Grimms. *sadface* I love the Cheshire Cat.**

**20: spelling: probably.**

**18: You thought she'd be 13+ for the same reason I still read this series when I'm eighteen: because Sabrina acts WAAAAY too mature.**

**16: I kind of just came up with superpowers that I thought were cool. Which are a lot. And there are tons more that I didn't give her. And no, you don't seem weird. You seem awesome. Hence the chapter dedication.**

**15: Wendell IS the Pied Piper's son, you were right!**

* * *

"Sabrina?" Red asked timidly.

Sabrina pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes and turned to look at the girl, lowering her sword. "Wassup?"

"Well, we were going to start moving our things into the chicken house today, my... my parents and me, but... the house is being dificult."

"Can't it wait?" Sabrina asked. "I've only got two more days to get back in shape before school starts."

"Grimm, you've been practicing since you found out you were in the advanced class." Puck rolled his eyes, dropping his own sword on the porch. "You might as well take a break."

"But I barely even picked up a sword all summer!" Sabrina snapped. "I'm rusty!"

"And your family needs your help." Puck said. "One hour spent talking sense into a moody building won't make that much of a difference."

Sabrina sighed. "Fine. I'll go. Happy?"

"You're such a grouch." Puck rolled his eyes again. "Come on."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him, rubbing her thumb along the hilt of her sword and turning it back into wood before shoving it in her belt and turning to Red. "So where _is_ the house?"

"That's part of the problem." Red said apologetically. "We don't know. It ran off into the backyard."

"Crap." Sabrina muttered. "It could take hours to find."

"Use your magic key thing." Puck suggested.

Sabrina reached for the chain around her neck, pulling both Puck's charm and the key for Baba Yaga's house out from inside her shirt.

"Since when do you keep that there?" Red asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "Since the funeral. It's nice to have a reminder."

"What exactly does the key do?" Puck asked as they headed for the forest.

"I... don't know." Sabrina said. "It sort of reminds the house that I own it, I guess. And... locks doors and stuff like that."

"Do you think you could find the house with it?" Puck asked. "Or call it or something?"

"I could try..." Sabrina said doubtfully, then began. "Here, housie housie housie..." She sighed. "This is stupid. It'll never work."

The bushes rustled.

"Keep going." Red said encouragingly.

"House?" Sabrina asked, rolling her eyes. "Come out, come out wherever you are." She sighed again. "This is so _stupid_!"

"Just keep going." Puck muttered. "I thought I saw a feather."

"Exciting." Sabrina muttered, then, "Come on out, house. I need to see you."

The bushes rustled again, and then a chicken stepped out from one of them.

"Could you maybe stop being a chicken and start being a house again?" Sabrina asked the chicken.

There was a loud 'whoompfh' and then the house was standing there on its chicken legs.

"All right, so maybe I was wrong about that." Sabrina told Puck, half begrudging, half awed. "House? Mind sitting down?"

The house sat, and the three stepped onto the stoop. Red headed in, and Sabrina was about to follow her when she blinked, and her left eye flashed gold inside the black circle on her face. She rubbed her head and wobbled slightly.

"Y'OK?" Puck asked.

"Eh." Sabrina said, not looking away from the invisible thing. "I'm... I'm seeing things."

"Dead people?" Puck asked, indicating her gold eye.

Sabrina blinked, and her eye returned to blue. "What? No! Well... sort of. Memories. Of things that happened here."

"But you've been here before and not had issues." Puck pointed out.

"It's just worse than usual today." Sabrina said. "Maybe because the house is thinking about it. Or as much as houses can think, anyway."

"What are you seeing, then, if it's not dead people?"

"Memories." Sabrina said, staring into midair again. "She's at the stove, cooking something disgusting. It's smoking. Her guardians are there. She's... she's laughing. And so are they."

"Wish I could see it." Puck said.

"I wish I could turn it off." Sabrina said. "I get these things all the time. I don't know how Daphne deals with it. She says the future's always changing, and every five minutes she'll see something different happening to the same person. At least I see stuff that already happened. It's solid."

"You guys coming?" Red asked, poking her head back around the corner.

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "In a minute. I think the house needs some TLC first, though."

"TLC?" Red asked.

"Tender Loving Care." Sabrina explained.

"I know _that._" Red said. "But how can a house need TLC?"

"I think... I think it thought I was getting rid of it. It feels... felt... I don't know. Abandoned."

"How can a house feel abandoned?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "Maybe it had so much magic in it for so long that it sort of became alive... ish. But it is, and Baba Yaga left, and I haven't been here in days, and after we fixed it up and the first people in here were practically strangers... maybe it thought we sold it."

"So the house thinks you didn't want it and got in a funk?" Red asked, clarifying.

Puck blinked. "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this 'houses-can-think' business."

Sabrina shrugged. "I've given up on things making sense. Just go with it, and pretend it's not really a house."

"So how do we get it to stop feeling like you've abandoned it?" Red asked. "I like it here, and I want my own room."

"Well, talking to it worked before, right?" Puck asked. "Why don't you just do that again?"

"Because I feel weird, talking to a house." Sabrina said. "Maybe you could, like, go away, and _then_ I'll talk to the house. How's that?"

"Yeah... no." Puck said dryly. "I want to watch you suffer."

"Jerk." Sabrina muttered, then turned hopefully to Red and asked "Don't suppose you'd be willing to leave?"

Red shook her head, and Sabrina sighed. "Figured." She turned away from the other two, looking at the walls and trying to pretend she was alone in the building. "Hey, house." She said, "Listen. You can't keep sulking like this."

The house groaned, and she glared at the walls.

"I mean it." She said sternly. "I know you miss her, and I know you feel like I'm ignoring you, but I'm _thirteen_. I can't have a whole house to myself! So I'm loaning you to Uncle Jake, Aunt Briar, and Red. I'm not getting rid of you, I plan to use you to get around all the time. But I can't live in here, and you can't stay empty, and they need a house. So it works out best for everyone. So please... cooperate? Let them in, be there when they need you, that kind of thing. Please?"

The house groaned again, but this time it sounded less like it was complaining and more like it was agreeing with her.

"Good." Sabrina smiled and patted the wall. "Thanks." She turned to Red and said, "I think you're good now. But I may have to see about getting this key copied or something for you guys, so that you can call the house when you need it."

"Thanks." Red smiled shyly. "Now I can start moving my things in."

Sabrina grinned back at her and offered, "You need help with that?"

"I thought you wanted to get back to training." Puck accused.

"And I thought you wanted me to take a break." Sabrina countered, faking a sweet smile.

Puck sighed. "I don't understand you."

Red patted his arm as she walked out of the house. "She's a girl. Get used to it."

"What exactly does that have to do with it?" Puck asked wearily.

"Girls' ultimate goal in life is to confuse boys." Red explained. "Or, well... not really. But it's a big one."

"Hi, guys." Daphne called from the porch. "Whatcha doing?"

"Helping Red move her stuff into the chickenhouse." Sabrina said. "Wanna help?"

"Sure." Daphne bounced up to the door.

They began moving boxes, and as they did, talk turned to the army.

"We need a name." Daphne said. "We can't just be 'Charming's army,' that's like saying he's our king."

"And if we do that now, then as soon as the war's over, he'll make sure he is king." Sabrina said darkly. "And he may be loosening up some, but we don't need a king, especially not one like him."

"It has to be a creative name, though." Puck said thoughtfully. "One that say what we are but's still fun."

"Not just the anti-hand, then?" Red asked. "'Cause that's what we are."

"We could be the green foot." Sabrina suggested. "Feet are about as opposite hands as you can get, and green is the opposite of red, which is what scarlet is."

"Not green, though." Daphne mused. "The... the Emerald Foot!"

"Dude." Puck grinned. "We have to tell Charming about this."

"He'll flip." Sabrina said. "There's no way he'd agree to be part of something that called itself the Emerald Foot."

Still, it was too good an idea for Daphne and Puck to let go of, so after they'd moved all of Red's things into the chicken house, they took it to Fort Charming, with Sabrina giving the house directions while she wasn't grumbling about how this was a stupid, pointless trip, and they were going to be in _so much_ trouble when they got home.

"Ah, stuff it, Grimm." Puck said cheerfully.

"When have you ever let getting in trouble stop you from doing anything, anyway?" Daphne asked.

"Good point." Puck grinned.

"That was for _important_ stuff, though." Sabrina said. "Not going to talk to Charming about something we all know he'll say no to. Couldn't we have at least stopped to tell someone we were leaving?"

"Who?" Red asked. "My... parents were out, and yours were, too, and Granny Relda was busy with Bella in the basement."

"What are they doing down there, anyway?" Daphne wondered. "They're down there all the time, and they won't say anything about what they're doing."

"Cleaning?" Sabrina guessed. "I honestly haven't noticed."

"That's 'cause you've been spending _every. Single. Second._ Training." Daphne pointed out. "You'd think we were going to be attacked tomorow or something, the way you've been going at it."

"We might be." Sabrina shot back. "We're in a war, Daphne. Just because we don't know when they're going to strike does't mean it won't be soon. How do you think mom and dad are going to feel when they get home and we're not there? 'Cause _they_ know how serious this is, even if you don't."

"We're here." Red said quietly, cutting off the argument before it could start.

Daphne and Sabrina glared at each other while they waited for someone to come open the gate, and continued glaring while the house entered the fort, and as the group headed for Charming's office.

"What is it?" Charming asked as they entered. "I'm in the middle of-" He looked up. "Oh. It's you. What do you want?"

"Nothing important." Sabrina said. "We can come back later if you're busy, 'cause we're really going to catch it if we don't get back-"

"We wanted to talk to you about a name." Daphne interrupted. "For your army."

"We think it'll boost morale if you give the troops a name." Puck said. "Give them something to rally around, you know?"

Sabrina blinked at Puck and whispered, "Where did that come from?"

Puck shrugged. "I think I got it out of a movie. And it sounded cool. What does it mean?"

"I'll tell you later." She promised.

Snow walked through the back door of Charming's office and, after she blinked at the four friends, she smiled. "Hi, kids. What are you doing here?"

"Daphne and Puck wanted to suggest a name for the army." Red said quietly. "And the dragged Sabrina along, so I followed."

"A name?" Snow asked, excited. "Oh, good. I've been trying to think one up myself, but I haven't gotten anything good. Let's hear it."

"I personally see nothing wrong with Charming's Army." Charming said to the room in general.

"It makes you sound like a chauvenistic, egostistical jerk, that's what." Sabrina told him. "And if you want to have _any_ chance at being the mayor when this is over, you'll give up a bit of power now so that people like you enough to give you more later."

"Good point." Snow said. "Now listen to their idea, Billy."

"Fine. What is it?" Charming said wearily.

"The Emerald Foot." Daphne declared with a flourish.

Charming stared at her, mouth agape, for a full five minutes before saying, "...The what?"

"The Emerald Foot." Daphne repeated.

"Yes, yes, yes, I heard you." Charming said impatiently. "But...really? It seems silly to me."

"I kind of like it." Snow said with a smile. "How about we put it to a vote?"

"Can you do that some other time?" Sabrina asked impatiently, looking at the sky. "It's getting late."

"Relax." Daphne told her. "You can just rewind time, can't you?"

"I _could_," Sabrina said, "But it's a lot of effort. And I'm not sure I could take the house with me."

"So you'd rather complain than take the solution?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Sabrina nodded. "But can we _please_ go home before we get in even more trouble?"

"No, I want to see the vote." Daphne said stubbornly.

Sabrina sighed. Red patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Make it fast, all right?" Sabrina begged.

They tried, truly they did. But it took so much time to get the votes of just the fort, even with magic, that it was dusk by the time they finally headed home, Daphne and Puck leading the way triumphantly, because the Emerald Foot had won by such a landslide over Charming's Army that it was the official name, even without anyone from the rest of town's votes.

They were about halfway home when the house stopped short.

"Sabrina?" Red asked, her voice a little tremulous.

"Why'd we stop?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged, then realized that no one could see it, because it was so dark. "Anyone know where the light switch is?"

"It's broken, remember?" Daphne called. "Uncle Jake said he'd fix it today."

"So he couldn't because you decided to steal the house?" Sabrina sighed. "Typical."

"Umm... Red?" Puck asked. "Why were you moving in when you didn't have electricity yet?"

"More importantly, why didn't she remind us when we left that we'd be keeping her from getting electricity?" Sabrina complained. "That might have been a good reason not to go."

"Stop complaining." Puck said. "You've jumped into things without thinking them through enough yourself, Daphne's entitled to do it once or twice."

"Whatever. I'm going to go see where we are." Sabrina said, and a fireball formed in her left hand, while her right went to her sword... just in case.

She stepped out onto the porch and looked down. Puck and Red, then, after a pause, Daphne followed her out.

"It's where the house used to be." Sabrina said softly. "Before the Hand chased them to us."

"So why'd it stop here?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina looked at her face, eerily light by her fire and the moon, and shrugged. "Maybe it misses it. House? Head home."

It started to take a step, but then it fell forward, almost like it tripped. The four crashed to the ground, and barely got themselves airborne before they hit, Puck holding Red and Daphne as a Snowy Owl.

"What on-" Sabrina examined the house, which was attempting to right itself, without much luck. "There's a rope around its legs. It's all tangled up."

Puck joined her. "How'd that get there?"

"Laundry line?" Daphne asked.

Red shook her head, the flickering firelight making her look like her hair was on fire. "No. We pulled the old dryer out, remember? Besides, this rope's in too good a shape to be hers. It'd have spent at least a year out in the weather."

"So where'd it come from?" Puck asked.

A branch snapped, and Sabrina whipped her head around "Guys... I think I have the answer."

The others turned and saw what she'd seen: a patrol of soldiers, all bearing scarlet red handprints on their chests.


	56. Grounded

**AN~ **

**Sabrina H: Way to be a well-rounded reviewer! ...It seems like some of the best reviewers are the ones who don't log in. I'm glad you like it!**

**The speed-thing: I'd LOVE to update faster. Unfortunately, I'm a senior in High School, which involves a lot of homework and college searching and interviews and applications and scholarship stuff and... bleh. I'm also involved in my school musical, which is two weeks from now, and I'm in three other extracurriculars and want to spend some time with my family and friends, so my writing time, especially for fanfictions, which are kind of just practice writing, is limited. I'm sorry, I'll try to speed things up, though. The length: it's not really as long as fanfiction thinks it is. This thing's word processor is kind of... weird. It counts funny. Character Development... umm... well, I don't really know how to describe it. I don't know where my characters come from. Just... remember to keep them human, I guess. Make sure they have flaws, and likes, and dislikes, and something they're good at. There's a book I used in eighth grade that had this whole list of questions to answer about your character to make sure they were a real person, but I don't remember what it was called (sorry, not helpful) I suggest having someone ask you questions about your charater, and if you can't answer them, then your character isn't developed yet.**

**MarG Z: Thanks for the complement!**

**Sabrina Lee: (Man, lots of anonymous reviewers named Sabrina. Good, well-rounded reviewers, too.) I made both Sabrina and Daphne everafters because eventually, otherwise, Daphne would get old and die, and Sabrina would stay young. I was debating it for the reason you mentioned, because, yeah, it is a bit much, but I took a review poll, and most people seemed to be in favor of Daphne becoming one, too. Overdramatic-ness: Did you mean _that_ part of the story, or the whole story? Because I can try to fix it if it's just that part, even though I like it, and if it's the whole story, I'd like to know what parts, why, and how you suggest I fix them. :) **

* * *

"Ummm... what do we do now?" Daphne asked, landing on the top of the house and morphing back to her human form so that she could speak.

"We need to get the house upright!" Sabrina shouted as the Scarlet Hand ran at them. "Then we can escape!"

"Can you put up a shield before we do that?" Puck asked, sounding worried. "Then we can get it up without an issue. And you could just leave the shield up while we go home."

"Working on it." Sabrina responded tersely.

A shield flickered into being around them, its faint glow stopping the soldiers around them. Nottingham looked at it angrily, then started beating his fist against it. Red watched in terror as the shield rippled slightly.

"Don't put me down!" She hissed at Puck, gripping his arm.

Puck grinned at her. "Relax, Red. We'll be out of here in a minute."

"Maybe longer." Sabrina called from the ground next to the Chickenhouse's legs. "The ropes are a mess. We may have to cut them off."

"So do it, Grimm!" Puck snapped.

Sabrina nodded, and she suddenly had a long silvery sword in her hand, ready to begin cutting the house free.

She'd barely begun when Daphne hissed and said, "Stop," with such force that Sabrina listened, for once.

"What is it?" Red asked, not taking he eyes off the barrier and the people behind it.

"That's a vine." Daphne pointed. "A live one, too. You can't cut it."

"Can you, like, make it go somewhere else, then?" Sabrina asked, "Or make it ungrow or something?"

"I can't make things 'ungrow.'" Daphne said haughtily. "Nature doesn't work that way! I can try to..." She trailed off, her face screwing up in concentration. A few minutes later, she made a face, then said, "I can't make it move. It's stuck on something outside your barrier."

"Probably tied it to a tree." Sabrina muttered something naughty under her breath, then sighed. "I can't untangle it while the house is lying down. And I don't think it can stand up on its own. House?" She tapped the building in question on its large and rather disgusting chicken leg. "Can you go all chicken for me?"

The house shuddered, but nothing happened.

This time it was Puck who cursed, much louder than Sabrina had.

Daphne shot him an offended look. "Watch your language!" She snapped at him. "I'm nine! I shouldn't be exposed to that sort of stuff!"

"Can we hurry this up?" Red asked worriedly. "Nottingham is making the barrier _move_. And he's getting other people to help him, and it's moving more..."

Sabrina looked at the barrier for a minute and said, "Sorry, I wasn't concentrating."

The barrier stopped bending, but it continued to ripple.

"Make it stop rippling!" Red complained. "It's really creepy."

"I can if you want me to..." Sabrina said, "but the more power I put into making it stay perfectly still, the less power I have to keep it going for a long time. And the slower the house will get back on its feet, because I can't concentrate."

"Fine, it can ripple." Red said quickly.

"Daph?" Sabrina asked. "I think I'm going to have to anti-gravity it so that it can get upright again, but I can't turn it right side up, so I'll need you go guide it. Think you can do that?"

"Course." Daphne said.

Sabrina nodded, and stared at the house for a minute. She looked frightening, holding fire in her left hand and a sword in her right, with the black scar on her firelit face, staring intently at something sheathed in shadow. A small smile graced her cheeks for half a second as the house began to rise, but then the barrier flickered, and Nottingham's hand flew through it.

The house dropped to the ground, and the barrier was back, albeit slightly smaller than before.

"What was that, Grimm?" Puck asked.

"I can't do three things at once!" Sabrina said. "At least, not when two of them are this big! Either I put out the light or something else goes."

"Well, then, put it out!" Red said. "That was _way_ too close."

The fire went out, and the four were left with only the moonlight and the barrier' faint glow to see by. Again, the house lifted off the ground a few inches, and Daphne started to push it, but suddenly Sabrina half-screamed, "_Move_!" and the house came crashing down.

"Why'd you drop it?" Daphne asked, still backing up.

"I was concentrating on the barrier too much." Sabrina sounded embarassed. "But I was just paying enough attention to it to keep it from dying. I can't do both, guys. I'm sorry."

"Well, we can't honestly expect you to do everything." Daphne said matter-of-factly. "It's not your fault you're the one with all the skills we need."

"Bring the barrier down." Puck said suddenly.

"What?" Red squealed at him, digging her fingernails into his forearm.

"Bring the barrier down." Puck repeated. "Daphne and I will keep them off for long enough that Sabrina can hold the house up and Red can guide it into place. Then you can put the barrier back up while someone else clears the vines off its legs."

"You sure?" Daphne asked.

Puck nodded. "It's the only way. Otherwise we stay here until we can get help or Sabrina passes out and the barrier collapses, and we fight anyway."

"It sounds good to me." Sabrina said wearily. "Daph? Red? You guys okay with it?"

Daphne nodded, then shapeshifted back into an owl, a Great Horned this time, not a snowy, and grabbed her sword in her claw. Red nodded, too, more slowly, and Puck put her down, drawing his own sword.

"You let me die, fairy boy, and I will not be happy." Sabrina warned him, then turned to the house.

Puck and Daphne readied themselved, facing the barrier, and Sabrina began to levitate the house. Red pushed the weightless building slightly, and then the barrier shorted out.

Nottingham promptly fell over.

Puck snorted, saving the image of Nottingham face first in the dirt, arms flailing, in his brain forever, so that he could laugh at it on boring nights. But then the rest of the squad was running at him, and he was too busy fighting them off to think about anything else.

The next few minutes were a blur for all of them. Sabrina and Red were trying frantically to get the house back on its feet, despite the fact that the vines seemed to be actively working against them. They made progress, slowly but surely, until someone from the Scarlet Hand jumped on top of the house and started dancing, which almost made Red knock the house onto its side. Sabrina had to kill his own gravity to make him stop. The sight of one of their comrades floating about aimlessly kept the other Scarlet Hand members from trying the same thing.

Daphne and Puck fought off assailant after assailant, Puck sometimes fighting five people at once, both of them trying desperately to keep Sabrina and Red free.

When the house was finally upright, the barrier blinked back into existence. Most of the Scarlet Hand were outside of it, because Sabrina made it considerably smaller, but there were still a few inside with them.

"Shove them out!" Sabrina yelled to Puck and Daphne, who were both still fighting the soldiers. She demonstrated, picking a dwarf and pushing him outside of the barrier. "Just be careful you don't fall outside with them!"

Puck complied faster than Daphne, who first shifted into a bear, then let her eyes adjust before pushing the last two soldiers outside the barrier.

"That was easy." Red said brightly.

Daphne and Puck glowered at her.

"We're not done yet." Sabrina pointed out. "We still have to untangle the vine-thing..."

"Do we have to do it in the dark?" Puck asked pointedly.

Sabrina caught another fireball just so he could see the glare she threw at him. "Fine. Whatever. It's not like I'm keeping you safe or anything."

"Yeah, and who exactly was it that couldn't do more than one thing at once?" Puck asked, pointing at her. "Not me, that's for sure."

"I'm doing two things right now!" Sabrina snapped.

"Guys." Daphne interrupted. "Can we just finish up and get out of here? Please?"

"I am." Red pointed out, because she was, in fact, untangling the vines. "But I could use some help."

Daphne went to Red's aid, and Sabrina was about to, but she stopped before she'd taken five steps. "I shouldn't help. That thing like, eats people's magic or something. And we need mine right now."

"Point taken." Puck sighed and went to help the two girls.

It took a good fifteen minutes for the trio to get the house clear of the vines, and another five for Sabrina to tweak her barrier so that it would roll around the house without crushing any plants. Then they were off. Red was directing the house, on the rare occasion that it needed directions, because Sabrina looked like she was about to fall asleep.

When they finally got home, all the lights were on, and Sabrina muttered wearily, "Do you guys realize just how much trouble we're going to be in?"

Daphne shrugged. "Let's go in and get it over with."

"One issue." Red said quietly.

"Wassat?" Puck asked.

"They followed us home." Red pointed.

Sabrina rubbed her temples, sighed, and said, "I'll just put a barrier around the entire house, then. What's one more thing? I'm already going to pass out as soon as I lie down."

"Maybe you can, like... disconnect from it?" Puck suggested. "Stop feeding it energy once you decide exactly how you want it?"

"How exactly do we want it?" Daphne asked.

"No one can go in who has any intent to harm any of us." Red suggested. "Can you do that?"

Sabrina nodded wearily, eyelids drooping. "Done. It's big enough that we still have the yard and the basement, but it doesn't really go into the woods that much. And I'm... free." She swayed a little, then leaned on the wall.

"They noticed we're home." Red said. "We should get out."

"Right." Puck nodded, pushing Sabrina towards the door. "Come on, guys. Time to face the music."

Once they'd reached the ground, they stood in a line, Sabrina leaning slightly on Daphne, and stared at Henry, who looked like he was having an apoplexy.

"What were you thinking?" Henry exploded. "You left without asking permission, didn't even leave a note, came home way after dark, and brought the Scarlet Hand with you! You could have been killed!"

"We wanted to talk to Chaming." Daphne said, stepping forward. "And then we kind of got ambushed on the way home. But we got out of it!"

"And look at Sabrina!" Henry snapped, pointing at his older daughter. "She's dead on her feet!"

"Was this your idea?" Veronica asked Daphne, sounding slightly calmer than Henry.

"And Puck's." Daphne nodded, stepping forward. "But, yeah."

"And you left because...?" Henry trailed off, a look on his face that was part exasperated, part expectant, and part furious.

"She wanted to tell Charming to name his army the Emerald Foot." Red said quietly, after waiting several moments for Daphne to supply an answer on her own.

"She _what_?" Henry stared.

Daphne stood there, a few steps in front of the others, with her head held high. Sabrina, who was leaning on Puck now that Daphne had moved, was almost proud of her sister, and would have been more so if it wasn't for the fact that she was so very, very, very wrong.

"Daphne, we're in a war." Veronica said. "I don't know if anyone's explained this to you, but there's a strong chance that we could all die at any time. I understand that you're a child, and that this is hard for you. I know that, if you were a normal girl, you'd never have to worry about this. And you're the youngest, so it's understandable that you'd be less aware of the danger. But you've proved that you can be responsible in the past, so we've given you a fairly free reign. However, today you acted utterly irresponsible, immature, and thoughtless. Jake, Briar, and Bella have been out looking for you since we noticed you were missing. Your Grandmother had to call us home because she couldn't find you, so none of us got what we wanted done today. We were out searching, too, but we met up with Snow about an hour ago and she told us where you'd been. Do you realize how worried we've been? We thought you were dead, Daphne. Dead. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Daphne seemed to shrink a little with each word, but she still refused to look away from her parents. Finally, once Veronica was done, she muttered, "I'm sorry."

"I'm afraid sorry isn't good enough." Veronica said, sadly. "You're grounded."

"What?" Daphne gasped.

"You heard me." Veronica repeated. "You're grounded. No leaving the yard except to go to school; or accompanied by your father, myself, or Granny; or in an emergency."

"For how long?" Daphne asked, sounding a litle pitiful.

"Until you've proven that you're responsible and can take the war seriously." Veronica responded. "It's for your own good, Daphne. You'll be safer here."

Daphne stared at her mother, her mouth forming soundless protests.

Puck clapped her on the shoulder. "Tough break, marshmallow." He said. "She's got a point, though."

"Exactly." Henry spoke up. "Which is why the three of you will be grounded as well."

Sabrina snapped her head up, no longer sleepy. "Wait- I fought against this trip the whole time! Why am I getting grounded?"

"Because you should know better, too." Henry replied. "All of you. You're older than Daphne. You should be judged by the same standard, if not a harsher one, than she is. And you may not have had the idea, but you still went."

Sabrina sighed, and gave in. He did have a point, and she was too tired to argue. "Right. I'll be upstairs in my room, sleeping away my captivity."

"Come on, you three." Veronica said to the others. "You've got a lot of explaining to do."


	57. Spy

**AN~ I have a question for you all. If I were to write a parody, rather like _Story of the Worst Kind, A _by RockSuperstar, (awesome story, by the way. The irony just kills me), how would you take it? Because the likelihood of me making fun of several of my reviewers by accident is high. But I was home sick the other day, and I read some truly terrible stories for lack of anything better to do, and I was inspired to write my own passive-aggressive comeback.**

**Mary: You make an account by clicking the button on the VERY top right that says sign up. Now, on to your suggestions/questions: I actually sort of had that idea about making them get married, maybe that'll be an alternate. Moth isn't very involved in this story because she's... not a big part. She's a minor character, partly because _so many_ people make her the main bad guy. Whereas in this story, the bad guy is the Scarlet Hand in general, not just one person. There are plenty of Moth fics, and I didn't feel I could make an original one.**

**Adara the Wise: But she still went. She had the choice not to go with them, but she did. So she gets punished too.**

**Pink-and-Green-Jellybean: I accept your bacon and applause, especially the bacon. Mmmm... bacon.**

**kgirl: 1) No, because she'd be _such_ a Mary Sue then it's not even funny, and 2) Unlikely for the first, probably for the second, since she only has three to start with. Nobody needs more than three superpowers. Ever.**

**Scarlet Wolf: ****It's fine that you don't log in. It's just a LOT easier to reply to people with accounts.**

**1. No, I don't hate it. I'm one of those weird mature people that agrees that punishments are necessary when someone does something wrong.**

**3. I was just in _The Wizard of Oz_, where I played four different parts and had six costume changes, because our cast wasn't big enough. But we sold out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!**

**4. Apoplexy:(uh-PAH-pleck-see) _noun_. 1) a stroke 2) a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel. 3) a hemmorhage into an organ cavity or tissue.****Basically, it means it looked like he was going to rupture a blood vessel because he was so angry.**

_**NinjaKittyEpicness**_**: Thanks for the review! ****1. I'm not sure what you mean by 'full everafters.****' ****2. If Sabrina always has all the powers she has now, she'll be SUCH a Mary Sue. Nobody needs more than three superpowers. ****3. I have no clue. Maybe they're getting scared? I'm not in their heads. I just write down what they do to Sabrina.**

_**Sabrina Lee**_**_:_ I see now. It wasn't unfair. I asked people for their honest opinions and suggestions. You thought that part was over the top. It's fine. I disagree, 'cause it plays a bigger role later. I'm glad you approve of my childifying of Daphne.**

* * *

The worst thing about being grounded, in Sabrina's opinion, was that she had no opportunity to prove herself mature enough to be ungrounded because she was stuck in the house. She wasn't allowed out because she 'wasn't mature enough to be trusted elsewhere,' but she couldn't prove herself responsible because she was stuck inside where nothing particularly life-threatening occured... usually.

The second worst thing was the boredom. There is only so much cleaning one can do before there is nothing left to clean, and Sabrina, still recuperating from her huge amount of magical effort, couldn't practice anything for too long before she grew tired.

The result of their captivity was that they were all extremely excited to go back to school.

"Hey Dad?" Daphne asked on the way to their first morning back, "I just thought of something."

"What's that?" Henry asked absently.

"Since our study group is technically at school, at least some days, could we maybe... like, I dunno... not get grounded from that, too?" Daphne asked.

"I'll have to speak with your mother about that." Henry said. "But until then, no, you can't stay after school today. We're all going straight home after the school day is over."

"But maybe?" Daphne asked hopefully.

"A very big maybe." Henry said. "Besides, don't you have that one period where you can do that sort of thing, anyway?"

"He has a point." Bella said brightly.

"Shut up." Puck snapped. "It's not like you're grounded."

"Again with the having a point thing." Sabrina said, slapping Bella lightly. "Could you lay off the helpful comments? They're really annoying."

"Fine." Bella said. "I was trying to be nice, but whatever..."

"You didn't sound nice." Daphne glared. "You sounded like you were gloasting."

"You mean gloating." Sabrina corrected.

"Or boasting." Henry added.

"No." Daphne smiled. "I mean gloasting. It's my new word. It's like gloating and boasting combined. Get it?"

"Ah..." Sabrina said vaguely.

"You don't like it, do you?" Daphne pouted.

"Well..." Sabrina said, "It's not that I don't like it... it's just... Aren't you getting too old to make up words like that, Daph?"

"I'm only nine." Daphne said.

"Didn't your parents disappear when you were nine?" Bella asked Sabrina.

"Ten, actually." Sabrina said.

"Close enough." Bella said. "So if you were like, practically parenting at a year older than Daphne is now, and she's still making up words..."

"Shut it, Bella." Puck said. "Keep on making up words, Marshmallow. I like it."

"Thanks." Daphne smiled at Puck.

"She is getting a little old for it, though." Henry admitted. "You might get teased, sweetie."

"I don't care." Daphne made a face. "I'm the youngest person in this whole town, anyway. Why shouldn't I act younger?"

"Because then you'll stay grounded." Sabrina pointed out. "And I get the feeling we're either all grounded or none of us are, so the older you act, the sooner I can go out by myself."

"So you want a repeat of the wearing your clothes episode?" Puck asked.

"Nothing that extreme!" Sabrina hurried to clarify. "I just mean that some of the things you do, Daph? They're kind of normal for people a lot younger than you are. And we're all trying to prove to Mom and Dad that we're mature enough to leave the house again, so those things sort of work against the common goal."

"Whatever." Daphne said, turning towards the window.

Sabrina threw her hands in the air. "And now you're mad at me again. I give up."

"Well, this morning is off to a wonderful start." Bella said dryly. "Puck and Sabrina are mad at me, Sabrina and Daphne are mad at each other, and I didn't get to take a shower, so I'm itchy."

"Aw, shut it." Sabrina said, trying to glare at both Daphne and Bella simultaneously. She failed, going crosseyed instead.

Puck snickered at her, and she started glaring at him, too.

"Guys," Henry said wearily, "what's going on back there?"

"Sabrina's mad at everyone, and a bunch of other people are mad at other people, too." Red explained.

"I'm not mad at you." Sabrina said. "In fact, I want Red for my best friend. Nobody ever gets mad at Red, now that she's sane. How's about it, Red? Wanna be my best friend?"

"Hey!" Daphne, Bella, and Puck snapped at the same time.

"Not cool." Puck said, elbowing his way between Sabrina and Red. "We're best friends. You're not trading me off for the little nutjob."

"Red's _my_ best friend, not yours!" Daphne whined. "You can't have her! Red, tell her you're my best friend!"

"Wait a second-" Bella chimed in, "Since when is gooberface over there your best friend, Sabrina? I thought I was?"

"Sabrina." Henry muttered wearily.

"Sorry, Dad." Sabrina said sheepishly. "I couldn't resist. Besides, I _am_ mad at the others. I just wanted to get them back a bit."

"Can you explain to them that you were kidding?" Henry asked. "Because it sounds like there's a brawl going on back there."

"There- ow, Daphne! That hurt!- There is." Sabrina called, shoving her sister off her face. "_Guys!_ This is not helping us prove our maturity! And you're all overreacting! And I should know, 'cause I'm the queen of overreactions!"

The fighting ceased, slowly.

"She has a point." Bella said.

"Would you just stop saying that?" Puck asked. "The world would be a lot better off if you did."

"He has a point." Daphne echoed prettily, a sweet smile on her face as she looked pointedly at Bella.

"All right, I get the picture, it's annoying." Bella sighed.

"There we go." Sabrina coaxed. "You guys realize I was joking, right? I didn't mean that whole best friends thing. And even if I did, it's not really something for you three to fight about."

"Yeah." Daphne sighed. "I guess being cooped up for so long's getting us on edge."

"But we're at school now, so we can see other people!" Red pointed out, glancing out the window.

"It's Tim! And Art!" Daphne screeched, jumping out of the car before it stopped completely, calling, "Ohmigosh, Ihaven'tseenyouguysallsummer! I missed you!"

"Daphne!" Sabrina called wearily, "You know you're only supposed to jump out of a moving vehicle if it's an emergency!"

"You're the one who taught her how to do it." Henry accused.

"Under strict instructions to only do it in extreme circumstances." Sabrina sighed. "When will that girl learn?"

Puck made a face. "You sound like a parent."

"Habit." Sabrina said. "Come on. I want to go catch up with people."

School picked up again and proceeded as usual. Sabrina, Puck, and Bella finished the school's English program and proceeded to read, and discuss in class (the truth, and what had been skewed), every single piece of literature either about everafters or written by them, while Daphne and Red struggled to catch up.

In History, everyone had finished the required courses, and had started studying the history of everafters, beginning with the 'gods and goddesses' who were the first, and working their way through everything that had ever happened to any everafter that wasn't chronicled. Sabrina found herself at a disadvantage there, because most of the everafters had lived through quite a few of the things she was just beginning to learn about.

Several of the kids continued with art classes, and Red discovered a practical use for her talent- designing propaganda, both anti-hand and pro-human.

The French class had all but been abandoned, and anyone who wished to learn a language was now studying things like Pixie-ese and Troll-speak, and other useful languages like that. Daphne gobbled those classes up like wildfire, but Sabrina only learned the basics, things like, 'I'm you're friend,' 'watch out or I'll kill you,' 'where's the bathroom?' 'look, a distraction!' and other such useful phrases.

Puck and Bella continued in their math and science classes, soaring ahead. Sabrina, Daphne, and Red took them at a slower pace, because they weren't skilled enough in that area for it to make it worth the effort to study them.

The four children remained grounded, and so the study group was regulated to school hours, and they made the most of it.

Gym began with three tests in a row that year, one on health, one on technical gym, and one on the art of fighting. Then they proceeded to stuff a marking period with review so that they could move on.

Sabrina's favorite class quickly became her advanced fighting course. She wasn't the best in the class, and not just because she'd only started last year- she'd had a growth spurt and wasn't used to her new height yet, and she wasn't patient enough to work on moves until she had them down perfectly- but she had a natural flair for weaponry. She could hold her own in a fight against most of her classmates, though she lost as often as she won; she had good aim, with both a gun and a bow; she was strong; and she was determined.

A marking period and a half passed this way with no real problems with the Scarlet Hand- a few skirmishes, none of which involved the Grimms. They were still grounded, still unable to prove themselves mature enough to fight, but also still improving every day. And because Sabrina was tired of being stuck in the house, she spent more time with Mirror, trying to find her brother.

"Mirror, mirror, you're the shizz, show me where my brother is." Sabrina tried.

"The shizz, Starfish?" Mirror asked. "Really?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I was trying to think up a rhyme for 'is,' and that's all I could come up with. Daphne helped."

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Mirror said dryly, before the mirror itself whited out, clearing to show a small, chubby redheaded boy with gray eyes. He was smiling and playing with a small shard of glass."

Sabrina stared. "Who gives a little kid glass to play with?" She asked. "That's so unsafe!"

"Of all the things to harp over, you pick that?" Mirror teased. "Not the fact that he's been kidnapped?"

"I've already complained about that so many times, it's getting old." Sabrina explained. "You still can't show me the location? Just him?"

"Sorry, Starfish. I don't think he's been moved."

"Drat." Sabrina sighed. "Well, we'll find him eventually. We're Grimms. It's what we do."

"I know you will." Mirror smiled. "If I were the master, I'd be afraid of you."

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled, taking a closer look at her brother. "Hey- that's not just a piece of glass. It's a piece of a broken mirror."

"It's what?" Mirror asked.

"It's a shard of a mirror." Sabrina said. "I can see his reflection in it. In fact, there's bits of mirror all over that place. I wonder..." she trailed off, leaving the room.

"Where are you going?" Mirror called.

"I've got to go think about something, Mirror!" She called. "Thanks. I'll come back later."

"All right." Mirror chuckled, bewildered. "You kids."

Sabrina wandered to her room, then out of it again, and down to the living room. She sat staring at the mirror on the mantlepiece, a thoughtful look on her face, her head cocked to one side.

"Whatcha doin'?" Daphne asked, coming in and sitting down.

"Sh." Sabrina said, not looking away from the mirror. "I'm thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Bella asked.

"Sh!" Daphne hissed.

"About mirrors, apparently." Red guessed.

"What about mirrors?" Puck asked, and was simultaneously shushed by four different girls.

There was silence for a time, then Sabrina spoke slowly. "I was looking at our brother in Mirror, and he was playing with a piece of a broken mirror. And it got me thinking. 'Cause we've got a spy, you know? Too many of our plans have been anticipated for us not to have one. There were mirror pieces all over the room the baby was in."

"And?" Puck asked blankly.

"And the only plans that haven't been anticipated by the Scarlet Hand are the ones we make in the kitchen- the one room in the house without a mirror. Mirrors are easy to spell. Everyone knows that, even normal humans who don't know anything about magic. And Baba Yaga told me that they're used for something called 'scrying' a lot."

"What's scrying?" Daphne asked.

"It's looking at something far away using magic so that it looks close up." Sabrina explained. "Every time we have Mirror show us something, that's scrying. But witches and wizards and stuff can do that without a mirror that's been enchanted by someone else."

"And you think that someone's been scrying on us?" Puck asked.

Sabrina nodded. "Someone with a connection to mirrors. I don't think any mirror is safe."

"You have any idea who it might be?" Bella asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "There's any number of people who deal with mirrors in this town. I mean, Alice... Bunny... those other mirrors Bunny made... the Beast... it could be anyone."

"So what do we do?" Red asked.

"Talk to Granny." Sabrina said.

"But we _never_ talk to Granny about stuff!" Puck made a face. "You're always like, we've got to do something!"

Sabrina shrugged. "This is too important not to tell the adults about."


	58. An Engagement of Convenience

**AN~ Happy Easter, everybody! And wish me a happy birthday Tuesday! I'll be an adult! ...Scary.**

**_Invisibleme1835:_ Thanks for the review!**

_**PsychoBrunetteD:**_** Which parts are confusing? I might go back and edit this someday, and it'd be good to know what needs fixing. And yeah, my summary failed. Like, a lot. Also: ****If I can find you, I'll read them.**

_**Brittany Davis: **_**I _could_ try to write that story for you. But I won't. And you may think I'm just making up excuses because I'm a busy senior who doesn't want another story on her plate, but... if I wrote it for you, it wouldn't be your story anymore. It would be your idea, but not your story. And it wouldn't really be my story, either, because I didn't come up with the plot. Another reason I won't write it for you is because there are a _lot_ of similarities between your idea and the story I'm writing now. And thanks for reading the whole thing! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the patience to do that.**

_**Purpleflower23: **_**I'll look into that story, but parodies don't necessarily have to be random, you know. The one I'm talking about would be poking fun at people. I already have a crackfic that's in progress. And the Scarlet Hand in my story was silent then attack-y because I was boring myself and decided it was time to practice writing action. It makes absolutely no sense plotwise.**

* * *

After Sabrina made her announcement, Jake berated himself: "That's... why didn't I think of that? I mean, it's so obvious! We're being watched through our mirrors! I feel so stupid now!"

"None of us saw it." Granny said. "It seems obvious now, but before the pieces were put together, they were just random events. Wonderful job, Sabrina!"

"And you thought you weren't cut out to be a fairytale detective." Daphne grinned at her.

Sabrina blushed a little. "Thanks." She grinned, ducking her head.

"Don't get a big head." Puck shoved her. "One smart moment does not a genius make."

"Look who's talking about bigheadedness." Sabrina stuck out her tongue.

"So what do we do?" Veronica asked.

"Get rid of all our mirrors?" Henry suggested.

"Stop planning things in the bathroom." Briar joked.

"Both are good ideas." Granny said. "We'll put all our mirrors in one safe spot, and not plan anything there."

"Where?" Red asked. "There's nowhere that nobody talks. And if we're being spied on, I don't really want any more mirrors in the bathroom."

"The basement?" Bella suggested. "It's mostly cleared out, and we don't really go down there..."

"Absolutely." Granny said. "We'll leave a mirror in the bathroom, and maybe one or two in a few bedrooms, just so that we can make sure we look fine."

"I want one in mine." Bella said immediately.

"I can live without a mirror." Sabrina said. "How about you, Daph?"

"I'm fine." Daphne said.

"Well, let's go collect our mirrors." Granny said. "But I need someone to go to Fort Charming and tell them what Sabrina's figured out. We need to get rid of all our mirrors as soon as possible, with the exception of the enchanted ones."

"I don't suppose figuring that out and then coming to you with the information counts as being mature enough to get ungrounded?" Sabrina asked.

Veronica looked at Henry thoughtfully. "What do you think?" She asked.

"Probationary period?" Henry suggested. "She can go out, but not by herself, with permission, until she proves that she hasn't just been acting good to get out of the house."

"Sounds good." Veronica smiled. "All right, Sabrina, you can go. But you're not really free for a month."

"What about everyone else?" Daphne asked.

"Still grounded." Granny said. "You haven't proved yourselves mature and responsible yet."

"So I can go?" Sabrina asked, eyes widening. "For real? I can leave the house?"

"Yes." Veronica smiled at her. "Have fun."

Sabrina jumped up from her chair, pulling Bella with her, and swung her friend around in circles, chanting, "I can leave, I can leave, I can leave!"

"All right, no need to rub it in." Puck grumbled eventually, pulling Sabrina back into her chair by the belt loop on the back of her jeans.

Sabrina slapped his hand. "Keep your hands off my pants, bucko." she told him, glaring.

Puck raised his hand in a gesture of surrender and scooted his chair away from Sabrina's.

"Anyone else want to go with Sabrina?" Granny asked.

"I will." Jake offered. "We can take the house."

"I wish I could go." Red said quietly as Uncle Jake and Sabrina stood to leave.

"Stick up for yourself." Sabrina whispered in passing. "You're smart, but you let the rest of us be in charge too much."

Sabrina and Uncle Jake took the chicken house- surrounded by a barrier, courtesy of Sabrina- to the fort to warn the rest of the army, and the others stayed at home to search the house for mirrors. The cleaning the kids had done out of sheer boredom in the past months proved useful, because all the mirrors the family owned were openly visible. Still, there were a lot of them, and they had to be transported carefully so that none broke. Puck was afraid of the bad luck, but everyone else just worried about cleaning up the broken glass. All the mirrors had to be sorted through so that those who wanted one of their own got a mirror that could be hidden away when not in use, and then boxes and such to store the mirrors had to be found. Then the other mirrors had to be moved to the basement and leaned against a wall- which first had to be cleared- with their shiny sides facing said wall.

As a result, it was nearly dinnertime when they finished, but Sabrina and Uncle Jake still hadn't returned.

The duo finally arrived well after dinnertime, looking exhausted and slightly depressed.

"It's worse than we thought." Jake told the others as he and Sabrina sat down to eat their food.

"What is it?" Red asked.

"Charming's had things stolen from out of his magic mirror." Sabrina said around a mouthful of food.

"We're going to have to clear Mirror out." Granny realized. "Or at least, remove all the important things. There's no way we could remove everything in time. And if we did, where would we put it?"

"But... but Mirror's _huge_." Daphne pointed out. "That's going to take forever!"

"Well, it's a good thing you won't be missing out on anything." Puck said bracingly. "It's not like we could go anywhere anyway."

"Oh, joy." Daphne sighed, sounding less than thrilled.

It _did_ take a very long time. In fact, they weren't even a quarter of the way done when Moth started causing trouble again, sometime around January. School had been proceeding as usual, with everyone pretending to take normal classes while they were really studying for the war, and the Advanced Gym class was studying tactics and strategy when Moth started.

"Oh Pucky..." she called in a singsong voice.

"What?" Puck asked wearily, not looking up from the battle map the Beast had put in front of him and Sabrina.

"I was just thinking..." Moth said, leaning over his desk. "About that blood oath we made..."

Sabrina, head bent over the same map as Puck, reached up suddenly and grasped the necklace Puck had given her. It felt warmer than usual, and the key she'd hung next to it seemed cold in comparison. Why did Moth have to bring this up now? Things were going good! There'd barely been any battles, because it was so cold, training had been going well, she wasn't in any trouble at home...

Stupid Moth.

"What about it?" Puck asked warily.

"Well, I've held up my end of the deal." Moth pointed out. "At least... mostly. And I was wondering when you were planning on cashing in on your end."

Sabrina clenched her fist harder around the necklace, wondering, at the same time, why. It wasn't as if the necklace was _actually_ a sign of engagement. It was just something to keep Puck of out a sticky situation he'd gotten himself into. It wasn't like he was _hers_.

"We're in the middle of a war." Puck hedged. "That's kind of a bad time to get married. Especially since we're, you know, enemies?"

Moth pouted. "Don't be like that."

Puck sighed. "Can this wait until after class, at least? Besides, your mom has to ask, not you."

"Oh, she will." Moth said, managing to glare at Sabrina and grin prettily at Puck at the same time.

When she was gone, Puck looked up at Sabrina, horrified. "What am I going to do?" He whispered.

Sabrina shrugged. "Practice your acting skills?"

"What?" Puck blinked at her.

Sabrina held up the necklace that she was still holding and shook it a bit. "I doubt your mom will believe we're in love and engaged unless you're a much better actor than you look."

"You'd better work on it, too." Puck pointed out.

Sabrina sighed. "When can we practice this? I mean, you're stuck at home all the time, and if we do anything too realistic, they'll think we actually _do_ like each other, and then my dad will flip, and... Why did you have to make that stupid oath to begin with?"

"What?" Puck exclaimed. "I was trying to protect you! It's kind of my job!"

"Well, now we're both in a mess!" Sabrina snapped. "... And not doing a very good job. Maybe we should get some help. From someone who won't completely flip out on us. Like... Mustardseed."

Puck shuddered. "He'll probably kick me off the honor guard."

"The what?" Sabrina asked.

"The honor guard." Puck said. "It's these four fairies whose job is to protect the king of faerie, and sort of the rest of the royal family, but not as much."

"And you're on it?" Sabrina asked.

Puck nodded. "I'm technically the captain. But it's really just for show. We don't do much."

"So who else is it?" Sabrina asked.

"Art and Jonas and Ariel." Puck ticked them off on his fingers.

"Ariel?" Sabrina asked. "Like, _The Tempest_'s Ariel?"

"That's the one." Puck agreed. "Haven't you met him yet?"

"No." Sabrina said. "Do you-"

"Met who?" The Beast's voice boomed overhead. "This better have something to do with that battle plan, kiddos."

"Ummm..." Sabrina tried to think of an excuse, then gave up. "Just how much trouble would I be in if I told you it wasn't?"

"You'd have extra homework." The Beast said. "And you'd have to finish this, too."

"Then it totally was." Puck said. "I was talking about... a guy who was... in one of these battles."

"Somehow I doubt that." The Beast said dryly.

"Smart." Sabrina said, shoving Puck a little. "We'll just take the extra homework, thanks. It's not worth the effort to think up a lie, really. Especially one as pathetic as _that_." She glared at Puck.

"Also smart." The Beast said approvingly.

"But what about Moth?" Puck asked. "I mean, she was the one who-"

Sabrina stuck a hand over his mouth and told the Beast, "You can go now. He wasn't going to say anything important anyway."

The Beast gave Sabrina and Puck a look that might have been called amused, if it was on someone else, and walked away. Sabrina removed her hand from Puck's mouth, wiping a bit of spittle off on her jeans.

"What was that for?" Puck asked. "Don't you _want_ her to get in trouble?"

"Of course." Sabrina said. "But I don't want you to rat her out. He'll think you're a tattletale, and tattletales turn into spies or traitors. Let her get into trouble on her own time, without making his opinion of you any lower than it already is. Now come on, maybe we can finish this before the end of class."

They didn't. But their extra homework didn't take them too much longer, so they were almost finished when Titania barged through the front door. She raced for the living room, grabbed Puck's right hand, and pulled it towards her. As she did so, Sabrina noticed a scar across his palm for the first time.

"It _is_ true!" Titania screeched. "Puck, how could you be so unbelievably stupid?"

"What is going on in here?" Granny asked, drawn to the living room by all the noise. "Oh, hello, Titania. Can I help you?"

The other members of the household followed after Granny, coming in a few at a time.

"What happened?" Red asked.

"Puck, here," Titania seethed, "has made a blood oath with Moth."

"A what?" Daphne asked.

"An unbreakable oath." Veronica supplied. "Sealed in blood."

"What exactly was that oath, Puck?" Jake asked, passing a hand over his eyes.

"I promised Moth that if she left Sabrina alone, I'd marry her- if her mom asked my mom." Puck said, looking a little shamefaced, but mostly defiant.

"Why?" Titania asked. "What on earth would make you do something so incredibly foolhardy? You _hate _Moth. And we're enemies now. What could cause such an idiotic decision?"

"Relax." Puck told her. "I have a get out of jail free card."

"Which is...?" Titania asked.

"I'm just gonna leave now..." Sabrina said, edging her way to the door.

Puck grabbed her arm and muttered, "No you don't."

Sabrina sighed, and felt her face turning bright red.

Puck took a deep breath, then said, "I'm engaged to Sabrina."

"You're _what_?" Henry asked.

"I think we all second that comment." Briar said dryly. "Explain?"

"Is this simply a way to avoid marrying Moth?" Titania asked, "Or do you genuinely have feelings for this girl?"

"It wouldn't work if it was just an escape clause." Puck pointed out. "Love trumps the blood oath, not lies. We are genuinely engaged."

"And how long have you been engaged?" Veronica asked.

"And why didn't you _tell_ us?" Bella asked.

"We've been engaged for like, a year?" Sabrina asked Puck, who nodded. "And why _should_ we have told? I mean, it's not like we were planning on getting married next week."

"Uh, because I'm your best friend, and the rest of the people here are related to you?" Bella pointed out.

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me." Granny said, leaving to answer it.

The room was practically silent for a few minutes as everyone listened to Granny and the two other voices in the hallway. Granny reentered a moment later, followed by Moth and Queen Mab.

"Uh-oh." Red muttered.

"Well?" Mab looked expectantly at Puck and Titania.

"My son says that he is engaged to Sabrina Grimm." Titania said. "And, under the high rules of Faerie, their engagement of love takes precedence over the blood oath. As long as they remain engaged, Moth and Puck will not be forced to marry."

"Then force them to become unengaged!" Moth snapped, glaring daggers at Sabrina.

Sabrina grabbed her necklace protectively, glaring right back.

"May I?" Granny asked Sabrina politely, gesturing to the necklace.

Sabrina sighed and nodded. Granny gently lifted the necklace and attempted to pull it over Sabrina's head, but it wouldn't go. Sabrina felt it getting warmer around her throat and chin, until it was almost unbearable. Granny let go of the necklace quickly, and it fell back on Sabrina's chest, cooling off faster than it had warmed up.

"No good." Granny said. "It's stuck."

Titania nodded. "And most likely will be unless either of the two decides to cancel the engagement. I'm sorry Mab, Moth, but I cannot end the engagement."

"Then they shall have to go through with it." Mab said.

"What?" Puck asked.

"Pardon me for having difficulty believing that the trickster king has fallen in love after so much time." Mab said, not sounding sorry at all. "And with a human, at that. I'd like some proof. They'll marry, if they're in love. And soon. After all, what lover wouldn't want to hurry things along?" She gave the two a look.

Sabrina and Puck just stared at her, shocked. _Marry? Now? For real?_

"They can't." Henry said. "Puck may truly be ancient, but Sabrina's not even fourteen yet, and it's illegal for her to get married until she's at least sixteen- and that's with parental consent, which I won't be giving. Which means that the earliest they'll be getting married is in over four years."

"Very well." Mab said curtly, nodding. "We can wait, can't we, Moth?"

"But-" Moth started.

Mab put a hand on her shoulder. "Much can happen in four years. They might even fall out of love, dearest."

Moth nodded, but as her mother left, she turned and told Sabrina ominously, "This isn't over yet."


	59. Tasks

**AN~ I've been editing a lot of my older works, so they should be a little better, especially spelling-wise. And I started on this one, too!**

**Practicing imagery some places this chapter, tell me what you think!**

_**(): **_**Well, you reviewed, so you get a response, even though I don't know your name. ^.^' I'm confused by your review, though. Invite you to my wedding? You mean the character's wedding? 'Cause I'm not getting married.**

**_yahidontlikeueither:_ Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!**

_**kendra1212: **_**Thanks so much!**

_**awww:**_** That should be interesting. :) Only around Titania and those who'd squeal, though.**

_**Scarlet Wolf:**_** Yeah, 16 with consent. I don't know if it's in New York, but I'm pretty sure you can where I live (not revealing). And do you really think Henry would _ever_ do that? Also, you don't like parodies? How come? And the whole town is just everafters. The Scarlet Hand kicked everyone else out.**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** Yup, I'm eighteen. Now, your questions/suggestions: They didn't attack for ages and ages and ages because they were gathering support and needed training, and because I thought it was kind of stupid for Mirror to want to take over the world in the body of a two-year-old. They're starting to attack now because they've finally gotten all the allies and people they need. It's not a shocking reason to wait for attack, and I don't personally think it needs to be. Because if you study real wars, they don't just _start_. There are reasons, and then there are a few scattered battles, and then more and more. A lot of war is just sitting around and waiting. I get the feeling MB just made it go so fast because he didn't want Sabrina to be old when they finally won the war. And I'm honestly quite fine with my number of readers now. I don't have to be the most popular or the favorite. :) I'm working up action. Slowly. And I'm not mad about your criticism. You're offering an honest opinion about how the story could be better. I'm trying to improve, so this is helpful. I'd prefer if you didn't use terms like 'needs to be' or 'must' or 'have to,' because all of this is just your opinion, but I'm glad you actually shared your thoughts instead of just telling me to update. And... BETTER than NMW? o.O ... I LOVE YOU!**

_**SabrinaPuckLOVE: **_**I'm eighteen now! And... You consider me equal to NMW? That's... that's among the best compliments anyone has ever given me. My explanation for Daphne's shifting-ness was bad. I mentioned in... chapter 51, I think, that she was getting trained by Baba Yaga. So the training isn't explained, but it happened. And I'll consider those characters, if I need more. And I don't think you're being bossy. You're making suggestions! I may not take them, because I've got most of this story planned out, but I'll consider them if I ever get stuck. ****My suggestions for you... *starts singing, to the tune of Dory from finding Nemo's song* just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing writing. :) Seriously, that's it. It doesn't matter if it's crap, just throw random ideas out and play around with them. And eat chocolate. Chocolate releases creative endorphins. Having an accountability buddy helps, too. I have no idea about the movie, I'd heard a rumor that it was cancelled. And I think book nine comes out next fall. At the earliest. My Puck and Sabrina probably won't get married for ages. See below for details! Thanks so much for reviewing!**

* * *

"Well?" Veronica asked, after all had been silent for a few minutes, looking at the two teens expectantly.

"Yeah..." Sabrina said, blushing scarlet. "'Bout that..."

"We're not actually engaged." Puck hurried to put in, before Henry, whose expression was frightening, killed him or something.

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked. "I was already planning your wedding! How can you not be engaged?"

"It's to trick the blood oath." Sabrina said, still red-faced. "I mean, why would I actually want to get married to that?" she pointed to Puck, sneering.

Puck stuck his tongue out.

Daphne grinned at Sabrina. "You say that now..."

"But you can't trick a blood oath..." Briar said. "I think you'd actually have to want to get married for it to believe the engagement..."

"What if we just really didn't want him to get married to Moth?" Sabrina asked.

"I'd rather marry Sabrina than Moth." Puck said with a shudder. "Horrifying as either of those ideas is, I'll go with the lesser of two evils."

"Wait..." Daphne asked. "So, you're _not_ in love?"

"No." Sabrina and Puck answered in tandem.

"Drat." Daphne sighed. "And here I was hoping you'd finally seen the light."

"Ahm..." Sabrina trailed off.

"So this whole thing was a false alarm?" Bella asked.

"Not... exactly..." Puck said. "We're _technically_ engaged, unless Moth gets so fed up with Sabrina that she decides to hurt her anyway. Then we could cancel the oath, and Sabrina and I wouldn't have to get married. I figured something like that would happen within the next four years, 'cause Moth's not exactly the patient sort."

"And Moth's going to spread the rumor that we're engaged." Sabrina put in. "And we can't just go telling people that we're not, because if Titania hears, then she'll know we managed to trick the spell. Which is going to cause all sorts of problems for us."

"As if people didn't think we were dating enough already." Puck sighed.

Sabrina nodded morosely, then glared at him. "If you hadn't made the stupid vow in the first place, then none of this would have happened."

"I was trying to keep you safe!" Puck snapped back. "And we've been over this already!"

"And I still say I can take care of myself." Sabrina muttered.

"That's a good one." Puck snorted. "How many times have I saved your sorry behind, again? Ten? At least?"

"More like fifteen." Daphne put in. "But I've lost track."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at all of them. "Whatever. So, listen, can we maybe figure out a way that we could tell people we're not really engaged without Titania hearing?"

"Swear them to secrecy?" Red suggested. "Not, like, magically, but just make them promise not to talk about it?"

"I guess we'll just have to go with that." Sabrina sighed, fingering her necklace.

"Why do you keep messing with that thing?" Bella asked. "And why couldn't Granny get it off before?"

"It's the sign of their engagement." Granny said.

"How'd you know?" Puck asked. "We didn't tell anybody that..."

"Sabrina kept fiddling with it." Granny smiled fondly at Sabrina. "I'm not a detective for nothing, you know."

Sabrina sighed. "Well, I wear it all the time anyway, and it's a lot less obvious than a ring would be. And less in the way."

"Do you ever take it off?" Bella asked.

"No." Sabrina said, still fiddling with the heart charm.

"That's so cute!" Daphne squealed. "Even if you aren't really in love yet."

"You guys know you're going to have to pretend to be dating now, right?" Red pointed out quietly. "Since Titania thinks you are. You don't want to give her the wrong impression."

"Around anyone who might squeal, actually." Jake said thoughtfully.

Sabrina and Puck groaned, blushing.

"In fact, you'd better start now." Briar smiled. "We can correct you when you do something wrong, fix any mistakes you make."

Sabrina and Puck groaned again, getting the feeling that they were going to be tortured for a long time to come.

They were.

Daphne and Bella made them walk around holding hands for hours on end. Briar and Jake were constantly suggesting that Sabrina and Puck watch how they acted so that they knew what real couples did. Veronica showed the two dozens of old romantic movies which embarrassed Sabrina and bored Puck almost to tears. Granny took photos and tried to convince the duo to look at each other with a softness in their eyes.

The only two who weren't trying to make Puck and Sabrina into a convincing couple were Henry and Red.

Red had either decided some time ago that the two were hopeless, or she was just not brave enough to offer her suggestions. And Henry simply refused to assist Sabrina in anything that resembled a relationship.

"Let's try this again." Daphne said. "Hold hands, guys."

Sabrina and Puck sighed, but grabbed each other's hands loosely.

"Tighter!" Bella sighed. "You're barely touching each other!"

Sabrina and Puck suddenly switched to trying to squeeze each other's fingers off.

"Don't kill each other." Red begged, wincing. "Please?"

"Loosen your hands a little." Bella suggested. "Easy... easy... a little more... more... aaaand... there!"

Sabrina and Puck, who had been loosening their hands slowly, stood there uncomfortably. "Now what?" Sabrina asked.

The doorbell rang.

"Hold on one second, that's probably Wendell." Bella said. "I'll be right back, but _don't move_."

She was not 'right back.' She and Wendell lingered in the hallway for a good five minutes before coming back to the living room. When the finally did, Sabrina and Puck glared at them fiercely, hands still clasped.

"Sorry." Bella apologized. "I didn't mean to take so long."

"Whatever." Puck made a face. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Please." Sabrina agreed. "I need to wash my hands. A lot. With antibacterial soap."

"Ah, shut it." Puck rolled his eyes at her. "I don't like this either, but I'm not complaining about how clean you are."

"Just because I actually _bathe_..." Sabrina snapped.

"Guys!" Daphne snapped.

"Sorry." Sabrina said. "Anyway, not to be rude, Wendell, but what are you doing here?"

"He's giving you an example of how a typical teenage couple acts." Bella said. "Since you two don't pay attention to Uncle Jake and Briar's demonstrations."

"So can we unhold hands, since we're observing right now?" Puck asked.

"Go ahead." Bella shrugged, wrapping an arm around Wendell's waist.

Sabrina noticed, then, that Wendell's aforementioned waist wasn't as large as it usually was. He still wasn't exactly trim, but he was no longer as wide as before.

"Have you lost weight?" She asked him.

Wendell grinned proudly. "Yes I have."

"Congratulations!" Sabrina gave him a high five.

Bella rolled her eyes. "We're not getting off topic, Sabrina, but nice try."

"What?" Sabrina protested. "I wasn't! I just noticed that he lost weight and I was congratulating him! I seriously was _not_ trying to change the subject!"

"Whatever." Bella rolled her eyes.

Sabrina made a face. "Fine. Don't believe me, then. I'll just go someplace else." She started to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Sabrina, don't go!" Bella called.

"Too late!" Sabrina called back, not turning around. "I'm going to hang out with people who actually believe me!" She was smiling, though she didn't let the others see it.

She wandered to the kitchen, where she found Snow sitting.

"Oh, hi." Sabrina smiled. "I didn't know you were here."

"We were just talking about you, actually." Snow said, gesturing to the others at the table- Henry, Veronica, Granny, and Mr. Clay.

"What about me?" Sabrina asked warily. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No, no." Snow assured her. "But your grandmother mentioned that you wanted to help out more with the war effort, and Veronica wants to begin a search for your sibling, but Henry wants you safe, and we think we've come up with a way to make everyone happy."

"How's that?" Sabrina asked, sitting.

"Well, considering that one talent of yours, leaving your body, we thought you could be a sort of spy. You'd go astrally to some key Scarlet Hand locations, and find out what you could about the master, your sibling, and their plans." Snow laid out the plan, switching slowly from cheerful-friend mode to army mode.

"We have other spies, of course." Mr. Clay cut in, "But you would be an anomaly- a spy who cannot get hurt in the field, who has no cover to blow, who cannot be seen, and who needs no weapons."

"What do you think, Sabrina?" Granny asked. "You don't have to do it if you're afraid."

"I'll do it." Sabrina said quickly, trying not to explode with excitement. A real mission! "When should I start?"

"As soon as you want." Snow assured her. "But don't spend too much time doing it. We don't want this interfering with your other activities."

"Jake thinks it might be a bad idea for you to spend too much time outside your body, anyway." Granny put in.

"No more than an hour a day, Sabrina, do you hear me?" Henry asked. "I know you're excited about this, and it's a big step forward, but we're putting a lot of trust in you on this, and you need to prove yourself with this mission before I'll even consider letting you do anything else."

"Of course." Sabrina said. "Could I start now? Like, _now_ now?"

Veronica laughed a little, and Sabrina could tell she was excited, too, about a chance to find the baby, because Veronica never laughed anymore, not really.

"What do you think?" Veronica asked the other adults. "Nothing important going on right now, is there?"

"Not that I know of." Granny said. "Go ahead, dear. I'll tell the others to stay out of your room, just in case."

"Thanks!" Sabrina was already up and heading for the bedroom, practically skipping for the stairs, the chuckling of the adults following her.

Sabrina headed for her room gleefully, pulled the door shut behind her in an almost-slam, and laid down on her bed, fully prepared to go off and spy- to finally do something _useful_, instead of simply training.

Of course, it didn't work the way she'd hoped. She was simply too wound up. And as she tried to calm down, she couldn't get comfortable on the bed. The room was too hot; then the covers were lumpy, then she was lying between the pillows, which was very awkward, and then it was too cold...

After she finally got comfortable, then she kept getting distracted. There were noises downstairs, there was a fly in the room, or a moth or a bee or _something_ distracting, someone walked down the stairs.

It took almost an hour for her to finally drift off, but from there it was easy to leave her body. She drifted around for a few minutes, getting her bearings, and then she headed for the mayor's mansion, enjoying the ghostly, floating sensation.

Heart was in the mansion, as expected, and Nottingham was with her, also as expected. Oddly, he was soaking wet.

"-know why you spend so much time with her." Heart was saying. "Can't she just communicate directly with the master like the rest of us do?"

"It's one of her conditions, remember?" Nottingham sounded weary, as if they'd had this conversation several times before. "She'll deal only with me."

"Yes, but _why_?" Mayor Heart asked. "It makes no sense."

"I don't question her whims." Nottingham shrugged. "As long as she's not killing any other Hand members like she did the first three ambassadors we sent down, I don't mind the extra trips."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." The Queen sighed. "But I needed you here."

"For what?" Nottingham snapped. "To rub your feet? You do perfectly fine without me, Heart. All I'm here for is killing people. You scare them just fine on your own most of the time."

Heart glared at Nottingham, furious. Sabrina could almost see the steam rising out of her ears as she unconsciously lifted her bullhorn. Then, with effort, she returned it to its former position.

"Don't cross me, Nottingham. I may need you now, but as soon as this is over, you'd better watch your back." Heart said ominously, and it was scarier than usual, because she wasn't shouting. "I have more allies than you, you know. And the master recruited me first."

Nottingham shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't frighten me." He told her. "You may have allies, but I don't need them. And I have places to hide than no one will ever find."

Sabrina pursed her ectoplasmic lips thoughtfully. So there was discord in the happy family, was there? That was something to report back to the others, and pretty good for the first day, too. It was getting late, so she decided to head back. She drifted out of the mansion and back to her bedroom, only to find her body gone.

Sabrina stared. Where was her friggin' body? She needed that thing! And she needed it _now_! She ran off, - well, figuratively- frantic, searching for it.


	60. Switched

**AN~ ****SabrinaPuckLOVE &_ Erica J:_ Thanks! :)**

_**Purpleflower23: **_**Tandem, in this case, means at the same time. Silvermoon is fine for me. :) It's pretty. And thanks for the update comment! I try.**

* * *

When Sabrina finally found her body, she was shocked and slightly horrified, because said body was in the woods behind the house, trying to seduce Puck.

Puck, looking very worried, was backing away from Sabrina's body, which had its lips puckered and wasn't looking around at all.

Sabrina blinked, then stopped. _Is that really what I look like from the back?_ She wondered. Then she shook her astral head, clearing it. She had more important things to worry about, like why her body was moving on its own, and trying to seduce Puck, of all things.

"S-Sabrina?" Puck asked worriedly. "What are you doing?"

Sabrina zoomed toward her body, trying to enter it, but was met by a force that stopped her in her tracks. Something else was in her body. Or _someone_ else.

And she thought she knew who.

Sabrina then did what she should have done when she first realized what was happening: she stopped time, then headed for the area of the town that had been commandeered by the Fae kingdom.

She was starting to feel a little woozy, and spacey. She wondered if this was what she'd been warned about; what happened when people stayed outside their bodies for too long.

But if Moth _had_ stolen her body, then maybe she could take hers... if she could find it.

She searched. And searched. And searched. She'd gone through almost the whole Fae quarter before she found a startlingly familiar room. It looked just like Moth's room in The Golden Egg, pink and fluffy with pictures of Puck all over everything. And Moth was lying on the bed.

But would she be able to do to Moth what Moth had done to her?

Head swimming, she decided that it was worth a try, at the very least.

She headed for the body, and stuck a tentative astral finger towards Moth's hand.

As soon as she touched the body, she was sucked in, just like she would have been with her own body. It made her wonder if bodies needed spirits as much as spirits needed bodies.

She stood up experimentally, testing out Moth's body. It... well, it was hard to describe, but it didn't fit right, exactly. The body was shorter and curvier than her own, though the waist seemed to be the same size. The eyes could see farther, too, and more clearly, and her skin seemed more sensitive.

Still trying to get used to her new- and hopefully temporary- body, Sabrina ran off back home, because she had no idea how to use Moth's retractable wings. She was exhausted when she arrived, partly because time was still stopped, and that took a lot of effort, but partly because Moth's body had much less stamina than her own. Still, she decided that finding out what on earth was going on was more important that resting.

She grabbed Moth's- her own? Oh, this was too confusing- arm tightly, and the girl immediately snapped out of her suggestive pose to swing around.

Sabrina suddenly found herself staring into her own eyes, looking up at herself. She almost let go of the arm she was holding, then stopped, simply putting her other hand to her head and muttering, "Man, this is _too_ weird."

Moth, too, stared down at her body, then started stuttering, "What? You- But- I put up- how did you- where- What is going _on_?"

"I should be asking you that." Sabrina snapped. "I'm not the one stealing people's bodies."

"Says the girl inside _my_ body." Moth countered.

"You started it!" Sabrina rolled her- Moth's- eyes. "_Why_ are you in my body, anyway? I'd think you liked yours better."

Moth sneered. "To get Puck, of course."

Sabrina blinked. "Explain that to me? 'Cause it's not computing. At all."

"You two are engaged, correct?" Moth pointed out, as if explaining something to a very small child. "And I knew you could leave your body, so I deci-"

"Wait." Sabrina cut her off. "How did you know that?"

Sabrina was then treated to her own face giving her an astoundingly creepy look as Moth said, "The Hand has spies, Sabrina. More than you know." She continued, "As I was saying, I knew you'd have to leave your body eventually, so I waited. As soon as you left your body, I left mine and entered yours. And now _I'm_ engaged to Puck!" She gripped Sabrina's necklace with Sabrina's fingers, smiling.

"So you just randomly tried to seduce him?" Sabrina asked. "That was stupid."

"What?" Moth snapped. "But you're _engaged_. What else would you do?"

"Some people have relationships that are based off conversations and hanging out, not just lust." Sabrina said, not looking at her body or the person in it.

Moth blinked for several seconds. "So, you two _don't_ kiss."

Sabrina shook her- Moth's- head.

"Or make out."

"No." Sabrina clarified.

"Do you even hug?" Moth asked.

"Rarely." Sabrina said.

"Then-"

"We're not normal." Sabrina cut Moth off again. "And so help me, if you start acting like a lovestruck little idiot around him when you're in _my_ body, I'll make you regret the day you met him."

Moth made a face.

"But more importantly," Sabrina continued, "get _out_ of my body. Now."

"I can't." Moth said.

Sabrina glared.

"Really, I can't!" Moth protested. "Not all of us can leave our bodies at will, you know. I had to do a spell to get here in the first place, and I'm here for at least three days. Then, if my body's available, I'll go back. I was hoping you'd be there and it would be permanent."

"And you're telling me this because...?" Sabrina asked.

"You hold the cards now." Moth said. "And you'd have to have precisely the right timing. It's extraordinarily unlikely that you could get out of my body at exactly the right time."

Sabrina smiled creepily, an expression that suited Moth's face very well. "We'll see. So we're stuck like this for the next three days?"

"Yes." Moth said. "And this isn't going to be nearly as fun as I thought it would, is it?"

"No." Sabrina said, then she let go of Moth, who immediately froze.

Sabrina looked over at Puck and grabbed his arm.

"-Are you-" Puck continued what he'd been saying before, then stopped and looked down. "_Moth_? What is going _on_?"

"I'll explain soon." Sabrina said. "Just come with me."

Puck pulled back. "Give me one good reason to go anywhere with you."

"'Cause I'm not really Moth." Sabrina sighed.

"What?" Puck gaped.

"It's complicated." Sabrina said. "Just trust me on this for now? We're just going to the living room, then I promise I'll explain."

Puck looked at the frozen body of Sabrina, then at the completely still world around him, then, after a long moment's hesitation, sighed and said, "Let's go."

Sabrina led Puck to the living room, then let go and left him there to track down the rest of the family. She gave them each a brief explanation, brought them, too, to the living room, and left them there. Once they were all present, she took a deep breath, composed herself, and started time again.

Everyone in the room started speaking all at once, most of them starting in the middle of sentences. Sabrina waited a few seconds, then said "Quiet!" In a voice that demanded to be listened to- a trait of Moth's that Sabrina's voice didn't have.

Everyone shut up.

"Right." Sabrina sighed. "Now, I know you're not going to believe me, but I'm not Moth. I'm Sabrina."

Everyone just looked at her for a few seconds, then Daphne said, "Prove it."

"I just stopped time and brought you all here, and you want me to prove it?" Sabrina blinked. "How?"

"Tell me something only Sabrina would know." Daphne said.

"Our first night after Mom and Dad disappeared, we had scrambled eggs, Lima beans, and ice cream because they were the only things in the house." Sabrina said. "Then we watched the only Disney movie we owned, and you told me all about what you wanted your birthday party to be like, and we slept in Mom and Dad's room."

"Not good enough." Puck said, crossing his arms. "Moth could know that."

"You want something really embarassing?" Sabrina asked. "'Cause I can do that. Something about us..."

"Like what?" Puck asked skeptically.

"You cried at your dad's funeral." Sabrina said. "And you told me you hated your dad. Then you told me I was being stupid for not wanting to be a fairy tale detective, 'cause I was good at it. Then you burped in my face. It smelled like hamburger."

"All right, I'll give you that." Puck said. "Moth might have known everything but the hamburger smell."

"So, assuming for the moment that you're really Sabrina, what happened?" Granny asked.

"When I went out to try spying, Moth stole my body." Sabrina said. "She's going to be there for three days, and then, if her body's empty, she'll go back to her own. I needed a body, so I took hers. And I'm stuck like this. For three whole days."

"That stinks." Red said.

Sabrina snorted. "That sums it up nicely. Although I might have used a stronger word."

"So what are you going to do?" Henry asked.

Sabrina took a moment to fully enjoy the fact that her father had just asked her what she planned to do about a problem before saying, "Deal with it, and try to make it as horrible as possible for Moth so that she _wants_ to go back. Could we keep her here?" She asked Granny. "I don't want her seeing anything important, but nobody's going to believe her when she says she's her, and I don't want my body to die before I'm back in it."

"Of course, _liebling_." Granny said. "You'll be staying here, too, yes?"

"Yeah." Sabrina sighed, fidgeting. This body just didn't feel right.

"I wonder what would happen if your body was killed while Moth was in it." Jake said thoughtfully. "Would she die, or would she simply return to her own body? Or would you die? Or would she become nothing but a spirit, trapped here until her body died?"

Sabrina shuddered. "Let's not find out, all right?"

The door opened then, and Moth, still inside Sabrina's body, entered the room.

"This is just too weird." Sabrina said. "I can't believe I'm stuck like this for three days."

Moth glared at her, and the room started to shake. "You've ruined everything!" She snapped. "Another plan, gone to pieces! Why can't you stop _meddling_?"

As she finished, Sabrina- well, Moth-'s hair caught fire.

"Ow!" Sabrina screeched, running for the kitchen. She stuck her head under the sink and kept it there until the fire was out. In the process she learned that not only do fairies have stronger eyesight than humans, but they also have better senses of smell.

"Sabrina, I think you're going to have to show Moth how to control your powers." Veronica said tactfully as Sabrina walked into the room.

Sabrina sighed. "Wonderful. Can I learn how to use hers, too?"

"_I'm_ not teaching you." Moth sniffed haughtily.

Sabrina sneered at her mockingly, then turned to Puck. "You'll show me, right?"

"Sure." Puck said, rubbing his temples. "This is so freaky. I just agreed to teach Moth a lesson."

"Trust me, buddy, it's not any easier from my end of things." Sabrina said, then gestured to Moth. "Let's get started, body snatcher."

The three headed outside, followed by Daphne and Red.

"Stay in the yard?" Daphne asked. "I want to watch, and I'm still grounded."

"So's he." Sabrina stuck her thumb out in Puck's direction. "I couldn't leave anyway."

"Let's just get this over with, without the distractions." Moth snapped, and the wind picked up.

"Would you get a hold on yourself?" Sabrina asked, exasperated. "Every time you have a strong emotion, it messes with the weather, and sometimes with other stuff. Like earthquakes."

Moth blinked. "Truly?" She asked. "That's quite interesting. How do you keep from changing the weather at your slightest whim?"

"Practice." Sabrina said. "But for now, just calm down. We'll work on these things in steps, all right?"

"What steps?" Moth asked curiously.

"Just a question, first?" Daphne asked.

"What?" Moth snapped.

"Why hasn't Sabrina killed you yet?" Daphne asked. "Or Puck. I'd have thought one of them would at least have hurt you..."

"That's _my_ body, remember." Sabrina pointed out. "I hate Moth, but I'm not going to hurt her, 'cause anything permanent will still hurt me in three days."

"That's _if_ you get your body back." Moth said smugly.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "You really want to keep my body? Yours has better eyesight, a better sense of smell, is less sensitive to cold or heat, and has better hearing. Plus, you're used to the height."

"Then why do you want yours back?" Moth asked. "If mine's so wonderful?"

"Because it's _mine_." Sabrina said. "And I have more superpowers."

"Maybe I want to keep your superpowers." Moth said.

"Please no." Red whispered.

"Let's just get on with it, shall we?" Sabrina asked.

"Fine." Moth snapped. "How do I control these things?"

"Which one?" Sabrina asked snidely. "There's a lot."

"The easiest one." Moth said.

"Well, I started with gravity." Sabrina said. "And that was easy enough, but I don't think I want you making things float. We'll do that if you end up stuck on the ceiling or something. And flying... the only difference is that my wings aren't retractable. Barriers are also none of your business, unless you accidentally create one-"

"So what _are_ you going to teach me, then?" Moth snapped, and the wind began to pick up again. "It seems as if you're just listing things you don't want me to know."

"I'm getting there." Sabrina said testily. "Patience is a virtue, grasshopper."

"All right, first off, you can't call me that unless you actually teach me something." Moth rolled her eyes.

"Coming from the girl who refused to teach me anything." Sabrina pointed out.

"I don't want you knowing what I can and can't do!" Moth protested.

"Well, same here!" Sabrina snapped.

"Guys." Puck sighed. "Just _try_ to get along for now?"

"I wasn't the one causing problems." Sabrina muttered. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Which powers you're going to show her." Red prompted.

"Right." Sabrina said. "Thanks. So lie detection doesn't really need to be controlled, it's just kind of like seeing. That leaves the elements and weather, right? 'Cause I kept the other ones."

Moth glared. "Funny, isn't that what I wanted you to teach me in the first place?"

"It's a lot of stuff to go through." Sabrina said defensively. "I didn't want to miss anything."

"Whatever." Moth said. "Just get on with it."

"I'm getting!" Sabrina snapped. "Sit."

"Why do I have to sit?" Moth asked, folding her legs daintily underneath herself.

"Because I said so." Sabrina snapped. "Anyway, let's get started, shall we?"

"That's what I've wanted to be doing for the past hour." Moth muttered.

Sabrina ignored Moth's comment and said, "Now, we'll start with the elements. Which is your favorite?"

"Umm..." Moth looked around, as if hoping for a hint. "What are my choices?"

Sabrina raised one of Moth's delicate eyebrows. "Earth, water, wind, and fire. Fire's my favorite. Or water."

"Of course it is." Daphne said quietly. "I like earth."

"Which is wonderful, but we're talking about me." Moth pointed out sarcastically.

"You can't always be the center of attention." Puck said in a singsong manner.

"Can you just answer the question?" Sabrina asked Moth, who was glaring at Puck.

"I suppose I prefer air." Moth said.

"Right, then." Sabrina said, "Now, this is how you control air..."

And so began the worst afternoon of Sabrina's life. She'd gone from being instructed on how to act like a couple to teaching one of her worst enemies how to control _her_ powers in a matter of hours, and was not enjoying it. She eventually showed Moth enough of the basics that she wouldn't accidentally set anything on fire, and managed to impress upon her that any misuse of those powers would have severe consequences, and, most importantly, kept from killing anyone, but that was the sum total of her accomplishments for the day.


	61. Moot Point

**AN~ **_**NeverGonnaHappenObsessed:**_** You're really boosting my ego here. I think somebody better flame me before I get too bigheaded. :)**

_**Kendra1212:**_** Thanks for the review! Yup, poor Sabrina. She shall pull through.**

_**Puckabrinafanfictionrocks:**_** You deserve a hug for that comment. Seriously, do you know how RARELY I hear that? Slow puckabrina? I think most people think that's an oxymoron.**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** I'm glad you liked it. Thanks. :) And whichever name works for me. As long as I know who you are.**

_**Scarlet Wolf:**_** Ah, that's what happened. :) And my assumption is that all fairies have the same basic powers: flight, fire-breathing, and shape-shifting.**

_**EvilScapbookerJW13:**_** I don't blame you at all for not reading this. It's enormous. I wouldn't want to read it. Now, responses to your points, in order, starting with likes:**

**1. This school is where I'd like to go if it existed. 2. Bella=Love. 3. Yeah, forever is scary. But Sabrina being an everafter is the best way to make Puck not be heartbroken someday. 6. YOU LIKE IT? Holy heck, I think that makes TWO people other than me. 9. ^.^ I try. 11. Thank you. I thought Sabrina needed more time to develop, but I think MB wants to keep her the same age for most of the series. Which is weird, because she was my age when the series started, and I'm an adult now... 12. I think I'm the first one to do it. :) 13. Sweet! I kept them in character! 14. :D 15. I inspired you! Yay! I don't have anything finished enough to try publishing, except one kid's book. Thank you!**

**Now for the dislikes: 1. I'm going to go back and rewrite that, because it fails. A lot. I didn't explain it, and you have to know a lot about ancient gods and actually care about them to even begin to get it, and if you don't, then it will make no sense. 2. It is OOC. Forgive me. But I'm keeping it that way. However, I'll try to throw in more pranks. But a big part of the reason I write them this way is that I can never think of good pranks. 3. Her strength is her talent with weapons. By the end of this school year in this book, she'll be very beast. However, all the rest of this town is several times her age, and it'll take time for her to be as good as they are. See, I'm not trying to make her unskilled, I'm just trying to make her progression realistic. But I see what you're saying.**

**Thank you very much for your well-rounded critique. I appreciate it a lot. And yes, I am a beta, though I have no idea how to work the DocX system. And about books 7 and 8, really? I understand 8, but 7 was my ultimate favorite, followed by 4, then 5, then 3, then 8, then 6, then 2, then 1. Not that the order is really THAT important...**

* * *

After she'd taught Moth and taken a break for dinner, Sabrina badgered Puck into teaching her how to be a proper fairy.

"This is impossible." Sabrina sighed. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to try to be doing."

"I don't get it." Puck scratched his head. "My wings always just sort of came out on instinct, and went away the same way. Why won't yours move? I mean, you can fly just fine in your body."

"Maybe Moth is different." Sabrina shrugged. "She's a Fae, after all."

"But we're the same species." Puck said. "Just different kingdoms. It's not like... I dunno, greyhounds and poodles or something."

Sabrina snickered, saying, "I just got a wonderful image of you as a poodle."

Puck sighed, then smiled. "Let's take a break from this. You can practice turning into animals."

"Which will go just as badly." Sabrina said gloomily.

"Will not." Puck said. "Stop being such a Debbie Downer."

"A what?" Sabrina blinked.

"A Debbie Downer." Puck repeated. "Like a pessimist."

"Sure..." Sabrina blinked. "So, how do I do the turning into animals thing? I have to spin, right?"

"Yeah, but it's not just that." Puck said. "You think about the animal you want to be, and you spin clockwise on your right heel."

"I've seen you do it without spinning." Sabrina pointed out.

"That only works for partial transformations." Puck said. "And I'm really good at this. Like, awesome."

"Thank you, Mr. Modesty." Sabrina said, then stood up to try the spin.

"You're welcome." Puck bowed.

Sabrina balanced a little shakily on her right heel, then tried the spin and promptly fell over. Puck burst out laughing.

"Let me try that again." Sabrina said.

"Be my guest." Puck waved at her.

She tried again. And again. It took five tries before she could spin without falling over, but she still hadn't transformed.

"I almost wonder if I didn't like it better when I was getting my own powers and they exploded at me." Sabrina muttered. "At least then I could figure out how to work them."

"Try again." Puck suggested. "And this time, think of an animal. Think really hard about that animal, for a long time before spinning. Then, when you think you've got the animal down, spin. It might work."

"Might?" Sabrina asked skeptically, but when Puck gave her a look, she shut up and concentrated.

When she thought she was ready, she spun, and it worked. She was suddenly a lioness. Who could talk.

Puck blinked. "Nice. I didn't know if you'd get it on the first try."

"Great." Sabrina said. "Now how do I get back?"

That was much longer and more complicated, because lions find it very difficult to spin counterclockwise on their left rear paw. But she ended up back in Moth's body after another fifteen minutes, and found that she almost fit in the lion's body better than she did in Moth's. It was better to be in a body that was completely foreign than one that was almost the same but not quite.

"Ready to try with the wings again?" Puck asked.

"Not really." Sabrina said. "But let's do it anyway."

Puck snorted. "Remember what you're supposed to be doing?"

"No." Sabrina glared at Puck reproachfully. "All you said was concentrate on trying to fly. But I can't, because I don't have any wings right now. And mine never disappear, so I can't figure out how to get them to come out."

Puck looked at her thoughtfully. "Hmm... maybe if we... or, no. Wait. I've got it."

"Got what?" Sabrina asked warily.

"An idea for how to get your wings out." Puck said. "But you're not going to like it."

"Why am I not going to like it?" Sabrina asked, even more warily.

"Because my idea is to drop you out of the sky and see if the fear gets your wings to come out." Puck muttered.

"_WHAT_?" Sabrina stared at him. "You're joking, right?"

"No." Puck said. "I promise you'd be safe, Grimm. If it doesn't work, I'll catch you."

"No." Sabrina said flatly. "No, no, no no, nonononono."

"Please?" Puck asked. "It's better than doing nothing, right?"

"Absolutely not." Sabrina said firmly. "You're not dropping me off a cliff, Puck."

"And you're supposed to be brave." Puck scoffed. "How many times have I saved your life? And now you don't trust me to catch you? What a coward."

"I'm not a coward." Sabrina snapped, defensive now.

"Prove it." Puck taunted. "'Cause I don't believe you."

Sabrina glared, then sighed. "Fine. But if you get me killed, I'm not going to be pleased."

Puck grinned. "Come on, then."

He grabbed her and, as they flew upward, Sabrina realized that she'd missed having Puck fly her around. Flying herself was all well and good, but she liked it when Puck held her as he flew. It was nice, being taken care of like that. ...Not that she needed it.

"I knew you'd fall for that." Puck grinned down at her.

"For what?" Sabrina asked, getting suspicious.

"Me messing with your ego." Puck said. "I knew if I said you were being scared, you'd have to prove me wrong."

Sabrina gaped at him angrily, but her stare changed to one of horror as Puck let her go.

"Puck!" She screamed as she fell, "There aren't any wings here!"

"Wait!" Puck called. "And try to fly!"

Sabrina tried as hard as she could, but she was still falling. "I'm gonna die." She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm gonna die, and I'll never see the baby, and I'll never grow up or have a boyfriend or- why am I not dead yet?"

"Because your wings came out." Puck said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Sabrina opened an eye cautiously and looked down. She was flying, and Puck was next to her. She opened her other eye and blinked. "I- I'm flying again."

"Told you it would work." Puck smirked.

Sabrina glared at Puck, then punched him in the arm. She looked down at her hand- well, Moth's hand, and sighed. "That was pathetic. This girl needs to work out."

"Yes it was." Puck said, not even bothering to rub his arm. "Why'd you hit me?"

"Because I almost died!" Sabrina snapped. "That was terrifying. Why didn't you catch me?"

"I knew you'd be fine." Puck said breezily. "It's a self-defense mechanism. Fairy wings are more than just wings. I was right there the whole time, in case it didn't work. But I know it would." Then he looked at her, a little hurt. "Did you really think I'd let you fall?"

"Yes." Sabrina said. "No. Maybe. I wasn't really thinking. But... never do that again. Ever."

"I won't." Puck grinned, then shook his head. "You have no idea how weird it is talking to Moth like this."

"It's weirder from this angle, I promise you." Sabrina assured him. "So, now that I can fly, will you teach me to breathe fire?"

Puck laughed. "What, you don't want to fly around more?"

"Can't I fly _and_ breathe fire?"

"No." Puck said firmly. "I don't want you setting fire to my bedroom, thanks."

Sabrina made a face. "I can always fly later, I guess."

They touched down, and Sabrina tried to make the wings go away. They didn't cooperate for some time. But she eventually removed the pink-streaked wings from her back, then practiced popping them in and out for awhile longer.

"Great, you can manage the wings." Puck said, sounding bored. "Now can we move on? It's getting kind of late, and I want to go to bed."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him, but stopped messing with Moth's wings. "Right. Breathing fire. How?"

"I burp." Puck grinned. "But with fire."

Sabrina stared at him, one delicate eyebrow raised.

"Your eyebrow's escaping." Puck pointed.

"I'm aware." Sabrina said. "I'm trying to see how high it can go."

"Pretty high, apparently." Puck observed. "Shall we get on with it?"

"I'm not going to spend the next hour burping on purpose." Sabrina said testily.

"Don't, then." Puck said complacently. "I'm just the fairy here. What do I know?"

"Don't be like that." Sabrina begged. "Isn't there any other way to do it? 'Cause that's not only embarrassing, it's really vague."

Apparently, there was not. So Sabrina burped and burped and burped until she caught on.

"I can breathe fire!" Sabrina sang, dancing in circles around Puck. "I can breathe fire, and turn into animals, and make my wings go away, and- what?" She stopped, turning to look at Puck, who was staring at her.

"Nothing." Puck shook his head. "Nothing at all. I think we should both go to bed."

"Night, Puck." Sabrina said with a smile. "Thanks for teaching me."

"I'd say no problem or anytime, but it was a problem, and I never want to do that again." Puck flashed her a lopsided smile. "But it was fun anyway."

Sabrina flashed a smile back at him, Moth's shiny white teeth glistening in the moonlight, then left for her bedroom.

When she pushed the door open, Daphne turned and jumped, staring.

"Sorry." Daphne apologized. "I forgot what happened for a second, and seeing Moth come into my room like she belonged here..."

"I get it." Sabrina said. "You want me to sleep someplace else? So that you don't wake up in the morning and have the same thing happen?"

"Please?" Daphne asked, sounding kind of scared.

Sabrina, once she realized what Daphne was scared of, toyed with the idea of being offended by her sister's eagerness not to have someone who looked exactly like Moth in her bedroom, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. She _had_ been the one to suggest it, after all.

She got downstairs just to realize that the couch was already occupied by Moth. She stood in the doorway for a few minutes, watching herself sleep, before she went upstairs to Mirror's room.

The bed her parents had used before moving up to the attic was still in the room, unoccupied. She climbed into it, under the covers, and dozed off almost immediately.

The next morning, it took her a full five minutes to remember that she was still in Moth's body.

"Crap." She muttered, looking at her reflection in Mirror. "I really don't want to take a shower in someone else's body."

"What's going on?" Mirror asked sleepily. "Moth? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not." Sabrina said. "I'm Sabrina. Moth stole my body, so I took hers."

Mirror looked taken aback, but after a few seconds, he said, "Sounds like Moth, all right. I'm sorry, Starfish."

Sabrina smiled wryly. "Eh. I'll deal. It's only for three days, after all. Two and a half, now."

"That's the spirit!" Mirror smiled at her. "Now hurry up, or you'll be late for school."

Sabrina smiled at Mirror, then ran downstairs, to the kitchen, which was already full.

Moth took on look at Sabrina, then shrieked. "What are you wearing?"

Sabrina looked down at herself- well, Moth. "I _think_ it's a dress." She said. "I'm not sure, though. It might be a piece of gauze. Or a long shirt, or a skirt that you just pulled up over yourself. You should know, though. You put it on."

"You can't wear _that_." Moth whispered, horrified. "I wore that yesterday! People will think I'm _dirty_."

Sabrina blinked several times, then took a deep breath and said, "Um... Right. I don't think I- well, you- smell, and I thought wearing the same clean clothes for two days in a row was a better option than changing while I was in someone else's body. Sorry. Obviously, I was wrong. I see it didn't stop you." She noted, glancing at her body, which was wearing a blue dress that Granny had bought her some time ago.

"Yes." Moth said. "I noticed you haven't hit puberty yet."

"What are you talking about?" Sabrina snapped defensively. "Of course I've hit puberty."

"Mm-hm." Moth said skeptically. "You're not particularly... well-endowed in certain areas I'd expect someone who has hit puberty to be."

"I'm _slender_." Sabrina glared at Moth. "Not flat-chested. Slender."

"Oh, no no no, my girl." Moth smiled cruelly. "_I_ am slender. And I have much more chest than you do."

"Can we not discuss this here?" Sabrina hissed, looking around at the table. She wasn't blushing, though. Maybe Moth's body didn't blush as easily as hers did.

"What's the matter?" Moth asked innocently. "Don't want your fiance to hear about how much of a manly figure you have?"

"I honestly don't care what Puck thinks about the size of my chest." Sabrina said. "However, my little sister, my dad, and my _grandmother_ are all in this room right now. So is my uncle. I don't want them hearing this, any more than I think they want to be hearing it!"

"I, for one, don't." Jake piped up. "I think today would have been a good day to eat in the chicken house."

"I concur." Henry added.

"See?" Sabrina pointed at them. "Suitable conversation for polite society! This is not! Gosh, Moth, where's your filter?"

"She's never had one." Puck put in. "And you two ought to hurry up, or we'll be late."

"To school we now must go, to school we now must go, hi-ho, the derry-oh, to school we now must go!" Daphne sang to the tune of 'The Farmer in the Dell.'

"But I didn't eat anything yet!" Moth complained.

"Deal with it." Sabrina snapped. "You can get food at school."

They all piled into the cars and drove off to school, Sabrina and Moth thankfully in separate vehicles. When they arrived at school, most of the Scarlet Hand already seemed to know about Moth and Sabrina's switch.

"How do they know?" Daphne whispered. "Did Moth tell them this plan?"

"I doubt it." Sabrina said. "But I slept in Mirror's room last night, and I told him what was up this morning. The spy was probably watching."

"Why would you tell him that?" Daphne asked.

"Because he saw Moth in our spare bedroom?" Sabrina said, sounding as if she were stating the obvious.

"Oh." Daphne said. "Right."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you two be getting to class?"

"Right." Sabrina sighed. "Here I go." She slouched off, not looking forward to a day at school spent in Moth's body.


	62. From Bad to Worse

**AN~ **_**Evil ScrapbookerJW13: **_**Thank you! It won't be ending any time soon, though. And she didn't shower, thank goodness. ****I think they did a good job, but they just took a very different angle than me. ...A more popular angle...**

_**Scarlet Wolf: **_**Moth shall leave eventually, I promise. But not for long.**

_**Erika J:**_** Thanks! :)**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** I have no idea how long it will be, but I do have most of it planned out. In fact, if I die, there are some very messy notes in one of the documents on my account, and people have my permission to hack my account and finish the story. But I don't plan on dying, so it's a moot point. More Puckabrina _is_ coming, I promise you.**

_**Curlscat:**_** You stole my name, actually. :) I've had this username since... 2005? Yeah, I think that's about right. It's my username everywhere, not just here. (Besides, if you want to get snippy, since I have the account and you don't... Well. :))**

**_Kat:_ Again with the people who have my name... -.- More chapters coming up!**

_**Moonflower: **_**Your reviews are slightly confusing. But, no, as of chapter thirteen, Sabrina and Puck do not know Bella is good. They still think she's evil.**

_**RRB:**_** Paragraph 1: I agree! Because we don't want another Cindy-Tom crisis, like in book six! Paragraph 2: That's a good idea. I concur. Paragraph 3: Point taken. However, I didn't entirely want this to be a story about their powers, and I have a feeling their parents would have put some restriction on the use of powers to prevent absolute chaos (plus, it takes them a lot of energy to do anything, since they're such new everafters) But I'll try to make them do more. Paragraph 4: I'm not out of school yet. :P I won't be for ages, plus I work and have camps. So, the updates will probably stay about the same. -.-**

* * *

The day did not go well. Any teacher or friend she had who wasn't in the Scarlet Hand took a great deal of convincing before they believed the story about switching bodies, and most of them still refused to trust her with anything. Snow suggested that the two girls simply switch schedules for the next two days, so that it at least looked as if they were in the right classes, but neither agreed.

"This is horrible." Sabrina groaned at lunch. "She's walking around wearing makeup and a dress of mine, and people still don't believe me when I say she stole my body. This is completely destroying my reputation."

"Poor baby." Art said, not sounding sympathetic in the least. In fact, he didn't even look up from the house of cards he and Daphne were building.

Red said quietly, "I overheard her saying that 'if she had to be stuck in this pathetic human body, she might as well make it look as good as possible'."

Sabrina groaned, dropping her head onto the table.

"On the plus side, you look like a girl today." Puck noted.

"How is that a good thing?" Sabrina asked.

"How is it _not_ a good thing?" Jonas asked. "You'd really be very good-looking if you tried. Maybe if you ever wore anything other than jeans and t-shirts..."

"I wear sweatpants sometimes." Sabrina said defensively.

"Which is even worse." Mustardsees said after swallowing a bite of something that might have been canned peas. "Sweatpants have no shape. I think Jonas was talking about things like skirts. Or, like, tight jeans."

"They're so uncomfortable, though!" Sabrina complained.

"Try finding some that fit." Bella suggested. "I have an idea. Go over to Moth's house this afternoon and find some of her jeans!"

Sabrina made a face. "That's so weird. Changing in her body... ew."

"I Concur." Red spoke up, watching Daphne and Art pile more cards onto the house. "I wouldn't even be comfortable if Daphne and I were switched, let alone switching with an enemy."

"_Thank_ you, Red." Sabrina said. "At least someone understands me."

"I've given up on understanding girls." Puck said, stealing a piece of chicken from Art's plate. "I don't think there's anything to understand."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Sabrina said loftily.

Daphne looked up from the house of cards, horrified. "You sounded _just_ like Moth there for a second."

Sabrina looked at Daphne, offended. "I did not!"

"Whatever you say." Daphne went back to her cards.

Renee walked over to their table before Sabrina could think of an appropriate response.

"What is Moth doing at our lunch table?" Renee asked the general public. "And why is Sabrina over with Tobey and Natalie?"

Sabrina sighed, putting her head in her hands. "Can someone else explain this to her? I've done it, like, fifteen times today already, and I don't want to start again."

"Moth stole her body." Mustardseed explained, scooting over so that Renee could sit next to him. "So Sabrina stole Moth's back. She's pretty ticked about it.

"Who?" Renee asked.

"Both." Daphne said, placing the final card on the stack. "It's done! We did it!"

"High five." Art raised his hand, grinning, and Daphne slapped it with her own.

"I hit your hand!" Daphne gaped. "On the first go! I don't think that's ever happened before."

"It hasn't." Art grinned.

"Anyway." Renee said pointedly, "Why did Moth do that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Puck grinned. "Women just can't get enough of me."

Sabrina slapped his arm lightly. "That's enough, airhead." She turned to Renee. "She decided that Puck was in love with me, and the only way to get to him was to pretend to be me and then seduce him. It didn't work."

Jonas snickered. "The image of Sabrina seducing Puck is really, really funny."

"Not from my end, it's not." Sabrina muttered, stabbing her lunch with a spork. Then, realizing that she's just attempted to stab canned peas, she sighed, and rested her head in her hands. "I want my body back."

"Believe me, we all want you back in your body, too." Wendell spoke up emphatically, for the first time that period. "Seeing Moth act like Sabrina is weird."

Bella nodded. "You don't even walk the same."

"What?" Sabrina blinked.

"You walk like a guy, and Moth walks like a diva." Bella explained. "But now your body is walking like a diva, and Moth's is walking like a guy. And all these little mannerisms... you don't notice them until something like this happens. I kind of think we'd have noticed something was up even if you hadn't told us all before Moth could really pull anything off."

"Well, that's good, at least." Sabrina said, then paused. "Wait- I really walk like a guy?"

The whole table nodded, and Sabrina smiled a little. "Well, at least it's probably as humiliating for Moth as it is for me."

"Probably." Renee agreed, snickering. "So, are you, like, stuck this way forever?"

"Oh, heck no!" Sabrina looked horrified. "I think I'd cry!"

"Don't blame you." Daphne muttered. "This is creepy." She went back to eating, but her tray jostled the house of cards, which cascaded down, pieces of it falling all over the floor and landing in several people's lunch trays. "Drat." She muttered, pulling a card out of her mashed potatoes with a grimace.

"Here, I'll help." Art said, bending down to pick up cards on the floor.

"Me, too." Sabrina joined Art on the floor, while the others gathered the cards from the table.

Renee stared. "Now I'm really convinced. And slightly weirded out. Moth would never do work without something in it for her."

"Yup." Sabrina agreed, dumping a handful of cards on the table. "Which is why Moth just made Toby go buy her cookies."

"Really?" Bella looked over with interest. "And Natalie didn't stop her?"

"He's probably getting some for her, too." Art grinned. "That boy is whipped."

"Scuzi," Daphne said, standing. "I want more food."

"So are you." Renee muttered.

"Am not!" Art protested.

"Are so." Wendell responded. "It's not so bad, though, being whipped. Just accept it and move on."

"But I don't even have a girlfriend!" Art protested, then turned to his plate. "Hey!" He complained. "Where'd my food go?"

Puck snickered, and Art shoved him, saying, "You're paying for a new lunch for me." He stood, carrying his tray and walked off, muttering, "I am _not_ whipped."

Later, during the advanced gym class, when everyone had arrived in the gym, the Beast said, "Don't bother changing out, buckos. We're starting a new unit today. Come on upstairs."

Upstairs meant the attic. They'd only been up there a few times, when they'd been doing units on outdoor games, because there was no space for a baseball field or anything like that in the downtown section of Ferryport Landing. They would have gone up more often, but the Beast had caught Puck trying to break into the teacher's rooms on the way up, and decided that it was too risky to take them up very often.

The attic had been enchanted to resemble a grassy field, complete with a sky. The only thing that kept this image from being complete was the presence of window-frames, and the abrupt drop-off where the attic ended and the real sky began.

Sabrina entered the attic this time around expecting to see the same field she'd seen the last time she'd been there, and as a result, she was dumbfounded when she saw, not a flat grassy plain, but a small forest.

"Um, didn't this use to be a field?" Puck asked, staring.

"It changes, based on what we need." The Beast explained shortly. "You ten are past the point where practicing any more in an empty room would be helpful. So we're starting you on practical applications."

"Meaning fight simulations?" Natalie asked.

"Exactly." The Beast nodded. "We'll start with something simple, since you've never fought in a situation like this before- that I know of. Pick teams of five, elect a leader- and not one that's been the leader in the past week- and we'll go from there. Capische?"

The students nodded, and began forming groups. Puck, Sabrina, Mustardseed, Moth, and another fairy that Sabrina didn't know ended up in a group together, partly because most people were very confused about which girl was which.

"I know the rest of these people, but I don't think I've ever been in a group with you." Sabrina said, looking at the boy as they all huddled up to choose a leader.

"We were on the same team last week." The boy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, that was her." Sabrina said, pointing her thumb at Moth. "She stole my body, and now I'm stuck in hers until tomorrow afternoon. I'm actually Sabrina, and she's Moth. Who are you?"

"I'm Ariel." The boy fairy said. "Fourth member of the royal honor guard of Faerie."

"Nice to meet you." Sabrina said. "You want to be leader?"

He shook his head. "Didn't get much sleep last night. I'm not at the top of my game."

"I was leader last week." Puck said. "And so was Mustardseed."

"So was I." Sabrina made a face. "Did we really do three fights last week?" The regular schedule was two fights per week and three days of lessons on how to improve one thing or another.

"Yup." Mustardseed said. "Remember? That one day he had to leave, so he gave us busy work."

Sabrina sighed. "That leaves... crap."

"That's not my name." Moth said pointedly.

"I'm aware." Sabrina snapped. "I was voicing my opinion on the fact that you're our leader."

"Well, that's not nice." Moth sniffed, standing. "I'd think you'd be a bit nicer to your commanding officer."

Sabrina waited until Moth had left to tell the Beast that they had finished picking a leader to roll her eyes and make a face at Moth's back.

"Maybe it won't be so bad." Puck said bracingly. "We'll be in the woods, so you could maybe wander off and say you got lost."

"He won't buy it, and it'll bring my grade down." Sabrina said mournfully. "I'll just deal with it, I guess."

Mustardseed applauded her attitude sarcastically, saying, "Bravo, Sabrina. You're becoming mature!"

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him.

"You were saying?" Puck asked Mustardseed.

"All right, since both teams have their leaders, we can move on to the next step!" The Beast called. "Everyone listening?"

Everyone shut up and listened.

"Good." The Beast continued. "Now, Moth's team is going to head out into the woods until they can't see any of us, and they'll prepare for Natalie's group, which will attack at their discretion, after I give the signal."

"All right, are we going?" Sabrina asked, after several seconds of silence, in which nobody on Moth's team really moved.

"Of course we are." Moth snapped. "Let's go. And remember, I'm in charge today. Not you."

"I never said I was." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I was nicely waiting for you to make a decision, and when you didn't, I prompted you to move forward."

The group headed into the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. Puck, Mustardseed, and Ariel flew, and Sabrina and Moth both watched wistfully, but they realized that they didn't know how to work the wings they were controlling well enough to be quiet about it.

Once they were far enough out, in Moth's opinion, they stopped, and everyone looked at Moth expectantly.

"So what are we doing?" Ariel asked eventually.

"We're waiting." Moth said. "And planning."

"What are we planning?" Mustardseed asked.

"How to best go about this." Moth said again.

"They're all huge." Sabrina said, mostly to herself. "It's Natalie, those two Russian princes, Art, and Moth's brother, whose name I'm blanking on. They're all, like, twice my size."

"Leverage, then." Puck said. "We have to be prepared, 'cause if they jump on us, we'll be squished."

"We can hide in the trees." Mustardseed suggested.

Ariel nodded. "And jump down on them when they show up. We'll be able to see, then, too."

"Excuse me, but I'm in charge here, not you four!" Moth snapped.

"We know." Mustardseed said calmly. "We're merely offering suggestions."

"Oh." Moth said. "Well, then, I accept all your suggestions. Everyone get in the trees and wait for them to show up."

Sabrina rolled her- Moth's- eyes, but picked a tree and attempted to climb it quietly. It was harder in Moth's body, which was much more sensitive and less calloused than hers, not to mention slightly shorter. The rest did the same, each in a different tree.

Then they waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Just as Sabrina was starting to lose her patience and fidget, they came.

She cursed herself. _Of course!_ They'd been stalling so that their surprise attack was a surprise, waiting until the other group stopped being vigilant! How could she have been so _stupid?_

They lost. Sabrina and Moth took each other out- they ran into each other trying to get out of their trees- and the other three were overpowered by the sheer size of their opponents. They all headed back to the Beast, Sabrina humiliated.

"That was pathetic." The Beast told them. "I know this was new, but I expected you to last longer."

Sabrina decided at that moment that she couldn't take it anymore, screw the Beast's opinion of her. It's not like he wasn't disappointed in her already. So she started shouting: "It's not our fault!" She exploded. "Ariel was already exhausted, and Moth _stole_ my _body_ so I'm stuck in hers, and neither of us can use each other's powers like we're supposed to, _and_ she was the leader, but she's awful at it, so none of us had clear directions, and if one of the others had taken over as the leader, we'd have gotten in trouble! So of course we failed! We were destined to lose from the start!"

Once she was quiet, the Beast waited, then asked, "Are you finished?"

She nodded.

"Good." He said, and the fact that he wasn't raising his voice was almost scarier than it would have been if he had. "You know, don't you, that I will not tolerate being spoken to like that, yes? And you knew the rules when you picked your groups, yes? You knew the conditions of yourselves and your groupmates? And you knew the condition of the person you picked to be the leader, and the person who could have been your alternative? Yet you still chose Moth?"

"Yes." Sabrina muttered grumpily.

"Then you could have avoided the situation, but didn't. It _is_ your own fault. And now, on top of doing miserably, you yelled at me. You have detention with me tonight. No excuses. And I want you to write me an essay on why what you did is inappropriate."

Stinging with humiliation, Sabrina nodded.


	63. Undone

**AN~ Sorry this took so long, but I've had a busy two weeks. First it was the senior trip, then I got in a car accident and killed my car- came close to killing myself, actually- and while I was recovering/dealing with the aftermath of that, I somehow acquired a boyfriend.**

_**Scarlet Wolf:**_** No denying that.**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** I thought so. (Look, I didn't fall of the face of the earth! I updated for you!)**

_**Evil ScrapbookerJW13:**_** So you know what I mean when I say walking like a guy? You noticed it, too? No, not ending. *bows***

_**Puckabrina_Percabeth_Fax101:**_** Thanks! Did you know there are only three fics in this category with more than four hundred reviews? I'm kind of rooting for Art, too, but that may change. I don't know what will happen yet.**

_**FanficLife:**_** 1) Nope. She'd kill me. 2/7/10) Workin' in it. :) 3) She's supposed to be. She's a fairy. 4) Thanks! 5) No idea. Long. 6) You'll see! ;) 8) I can, kind of. I have a deviantart account with the same name. To find it, you type curlscat(dot)deviantart(dot)com, but with periods instead of (dot)s. I've got some SG stuff up. 9) Eh, it happens.**

_**RRB:**_** I know what you mean. :) But I don't know what it's called, either. The table of contents?**

_**alex: **_**I can't email you unless you provide me with an email with which to tell you. The Beast was blackmailed into putting her in that class, if you must know. Mab's hard to resist.**

_**Leah:**_** Sorry, I was in a car accident. I had other things on my mind that writing. I'm mostly better now, but yeah... I was busy. I'm glad you like it so much!**

* * *

Detention was horrible. Sabrina was in the gym with the Beast, alone, doing exercises. In Sabrina's opinion, there wasn't much worse about gym class than exercises. They were repetitive, exhausting, and mind-numbingly boring. And in Moth's body, she had nowhere near the stamina she would have had in her own, so she grew tired much more quickly, which gave the Beast even more reason to shout at her.

He shouted most of the two hours, actually, about anything he found wrong with her. Sabrina put up with it, because she knew his rules, and she'd broken them, and answering back was the reason she'd ended up in detention in the first place. She wanted to punch something, though, at the unfairness of it all.

She headed home at five, still seething, flying awkwardly with Moth's wings, in Moth's body, furious with the whole world.

When she entered the house, slamming the door shut, Daphne took one look at her face and pulled Red outside. "Come on," She said, "I've seen that look before. She's going to explode on the first person who gives her a reason."

Most of the rest of the family made themselves scarce, too. Her parents were out following a lead about the baby, and Granny was shopping, but everyone else conveniently disappeared, so Sabrina was left to stew in her anger, wandering the house, looking for something that would make her feel better, one way or another.

She found it in Moth.

Moth, unaware of the danger, entered the kitchen, complaining to the air in general about the state of the house.

Sabrina turned to look at her, and, armed with a death glare, said firmly, "Shut up."

"_Excuse_ me?" Moth said, looking affronted, shocked, and offended.

"I said shut up." Sabrina repeated. "You come in here, acting like you own the place, like this is some sort of demeaning thing we forced you to do, when it's _all your fault_. We did not make you come here. I did not _make_ you steal my body. _You_ chose to. _You_ got yourself into this mess." Her voice rose in volume as she continued. "You could be back in your fancy little house right now if you hadn't decided not to leave well enough alone and come steal _my_ body for your own stupid, failed little plan. And it's your fault I got in trouble today, your fault we lost, your fault Puck and I are in this mess to begin with, your fault neither of us can do what we're good at, your fault your muscles are going to hurt like heck tomorrow- everything is _your. Friggin'. FAULT."_

Moth stared, mouth agape, completely speechless.

"So I don't want to hear you complaining, OK?" Sabrina asked after a time, somewhat calmer now that she had that out of her system. "We're both back where we belong in less than a day, and I'd like it if you'd make this as bearable as possible. Understand?"

Moth nodded silently, turned around, and walked out.

Sabrina watched Moth walking, then realized that she'd just shouted at herself. And seen herself both acting like a diva and in complete shock. The idea suddenly struck her as hilarious, and she dissolved into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Puck asked warily, walking into the room a few minutes later. Sabrina was still laughing.

Sabrina shook her head, wiping her eyes. "Nothing. I'm just hysterical, that's all."

"Ah..." Puck said, looking lost. "Are you feeling better, then?"

"Somewhat." Sabrina said. "Yelling at Moth helped."

"She deserved it." Puck said vehemently.

"Yup." Sabrina said, sitting Moth's body down at the kitchen table. "I want my body back."

"Tomorrow." Puck reminded her. "Just make sure you're not in her body when it happens."

"I'll be cutting it kind of close." Sabrina sighed. "'Cause I don't remember exactly when I left. It'll be mostly guesswork."

"Granny probably knows." Puck said. "And Moth definitely does."

"But how can we be sure she won't want to keep my body, just to spite me?" Sabrina asked.

The answer came in the form of a scream. Moth ran into the kitchen a few seconds later, stopped at Sabrina- well, herself- and whispered harshly, "What are _these_?" She pointed to her- Sabrina's- face, which had a few small pink bumps on it.

Sabrina scrutinized them. "They're zits." She said. "I assume you've heard of them? Also known as acne or pimples, zits are small areas of skin under which are trapped dead skin cells and oils. There are many ways to prevent them, two of which I use, but some still show up anyway, and I have to pop them. It's not that big a deal."

"Yes it is!" Moth wailed. "I've never had a pimple in my life. I can't stand this! I want my body back! I can't go around in a body with pimples on it!"

"I don't think she'll keep your body out of spite." Puck said dryly.

Sabrina grinned. "I agree. So, Moth..."

"What?" Moth wailed. "Are you going to make my day worse?"

"No," Sabrina said, "I was just thinking..."

"Thinking what?" Moth asked suspiciously.

"Well, since you want to make sure you don't get stuck in my body, maybe you could tell me around what time you ended up in my body- you know, so that I can make sure I'm not in yours when the time comes?"

"Two." Moth said shortly, turning to leave.

"Wait," Sabrina called. "Two what?"

"Two in the afternoon. What else?" Moth said, exasperated. "That's about when I... entered your body."

"Stole, you mean?" Puck muttered.

But Moth was gone, and didn't hear.

The rest of the evening was a confusing mess of mistaken identity, so Sabrina spent it hiding in her bedroom. She would have hidden in there for the next day, too, but Veronica wouldn't let her skip school. So she dressed in a pair of ratty jeans and an old T-shirt, trying to avoid looking at the body she inhabited while she dressed, and went downstairs, prepared for another day like the one before.

Moth, unlike Sabrina, dressed even nicer than yesterday, wearing Sabrina's one formal dress over black stockings, with heavy makeup, to boot.

Sabrina blinked. "Are you sure that's me?" She asked. "'Cause it kind of looks like you switched my body for someone else's."

"Someone female." Bella added.

"Not funny." Sabrina said, still staring at her body. "What did you do to me, Moth?"

"Tried to make you look as acceptable as possible." Moth said, looking distastefully at her own body. "I think the more appropriate question is: what did _you_ do to _me_?"

"Nothing." Sabrina said. "I wanted to be as comfortable as possible until I got back in my old body. This one still doesn't feel right."

"That _nothing_ of yours made me look terrible." Moth hissed.

"Is _this_ what Moth looks like without makeup on, then?" Bella asked, tilting her head sideways to examine the body Sabrina was inhabiting. "Hm. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but still no supermodel. About average, for a fairy, actually."

"Well, I'm still better looking than this body is." Moth snapped back.

"Not at the moment." Puck chuckled.

Sabrina turned. "Was that a compliment?" She asked.

"Maybe, kind of?" Puck shrugged.

"A backwards one." Daphne supplied.

"That works." Sabrina shrugged, too.

"Time for school, kiddos." Veronica said. "Get in the cars, everyone."

They complied, and headed off to school, which was, as Sabrina had predicted, worse than the day before. People either avoided her like she had the plague or gave her pitying looks, and she noticed quite a few guys giving her own body some less than polite glances.

"I'm going to kill them." She muttered.

"Who?" Puck asked. "The guys staring at you? Or the people who put Moth in your body?"

"All of them." Sabrina glowered.

"That may take a while." Puck noted. "Want help?"

"Please." Sabrina said. "I was thinking a gas leak, honestly. Get everyone I don't hate out of the school, then blow it up?"

"Nah." Puck said. "It'd be too hard to get just your friends out, and you'd get in trouble."

"Not if I didn't get caught..." Sabrina mused.

"You would." Puck said. "They're smart, and it'd be way too convenient."

"Fine, then, smartypants." Sabrina sneered. "What's your grand scheme?"

"Take them out one by one." Puck said. "Make it look like an accident. One here, one there, and leave Moth for last, because if she dies, it'll throw suspicion on you."

"But she's the one I want to off the most." Sabrina complained.

"Exactly." Puck said. "So if she's alive, nobody will suspect you."

"Who do we start with, then?" Sabrina asked.

Puck scanned the cafeteria and pointed to a boy. "That one."

"The guy in black?" Sabrina asked. "The redhead?"

Puck nodded.

"Any particular reason?" Sabrina asked. "Or did you just pick someone random?"

"Someone random." Puck said, leaning back in his chair. "Besides, he's a ginger."

"So is Granny Relda." Sabrina pointed out. "Or... was. And the baby. Have you got something against them, too?"

"Your brother?" Puck asked. "That baby?"

"No, the baby orca in Sea World." Sabrina said sarcastically. "Of course that baby. Do we know any other babies?"

Puck shrugged. "You never know. Peaseblossom could be pregnant."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "I don't think she ever talks to her husband. How exactly would that work?"

"Magic." Puck said. "And about your other question- I don't have anything against gingers. I was just trying to think of a reason I picked him first."

"I figured." Sabrina said. "I was teasing."

"I figured, too." Puck grinned at her.

They spent the rest of the lunch period and the afternoon plotting the best ways to kill hormonal teenage boys and make it look like unrelated accidents, up until Gym, which started around 1:45.

Sabrina and the Beast were on thin ice, and it seemed to be reflecting poorly on the Beast's mood. He was louder and meaner than usual, and nobody complained that they were doing another practice fight- not even Moth.

As two o' clock rolled closer and closer, Sabrina started to get antsy, and at 1:54, she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Can we hold everything for the next fifteen minutes?" She shouted. "'Cause I'm about to get my body back, and I don't want anything to go wrong!"

"Keep going, everyone!" The Beast roared. "Don't stop until I say so!"

Sabrina made a face at the Beast, then snuck off into the woods, dragging Moth- well, herself, really- with her.

"What on earth are you-" Moth started, fighting to get her- Sabrina's- arm free.

"Listen, brat." Sabrina interrupted, stopping and turning to face her. "We are going to stay put, right here, until we both have our bodies back. I don't want anything to go wrong, so don't you dare move back to the battle."

Moth nodded, glaring.

"Good." Sabrina leaned back, satisfied, and left Moth's body, which still had a death grip on her own body's arm. She floated there, more at peace than she'd been in days, and waited for her body back, listening to the clock tick on the not-really-a-wall.

She lost the peacefulness as 2:00 drew closer, and started fidgeting. The time passed, and she was about to jump back into Moth's body just so she could strangle Moth out of her own form when-

Her body collapsed.

Then Moth's body gasped, and unfroze, letting go of Sabrina's and standing up straight.

It had worked. Moth was back where she belonged, and Sabrina could have her own body back.

She took advantage of that, slipping back into her own form like a favorite pair of jeans. She smiled, rolled her shoulders, flapped her wings once or twice, then stretched. It was so _nice_, to have her own body back.

"That's much better." Sabrina sighed happily. "Your body's nice and all, but it just doesn't _fit_ right. And you're not as strong."

"Yes, yes, it's wonderful and all, but we ought to get back to the battlefield before we're missed, correct?" Moth asked, looking bored.

"Right." Sabrina agreed, started to walk forward, then stopped. "I can't fight like this!" she shouted.

"What's wrong?" Moth sneered. "Too tired?"

Her shout had, unfortunately, been a little too loud, and the others started to appear in the woods nearby, quizzical looks on their faces.

"I'm wearing a dress!" Sabrina explained. "How do you expect me to fight wearing a dress? Come to think of it, how did _you_ fight wearing a dress?" she asked Moth.

"Not very well, that's how." Puck muttered.

Sabrina snorted, then turned to the Beast hesitantly. "Sir, could I please be excused to find alternate clothing?"

"No." The Beast said. He raised a hand, cutting off the look on Sabrina's face. "It's not because I'm still punishing you for your behavior yesterday- though it was deplorable, as was your behavior today- it's because this is a phase in your training that I've been meaning to introduce for quite some time. You won't always be in a fight in comfortable or practical clothes. Thus, you must be trained to fight in all sorts of clothing, and to compensate for the problems these clothes create. For the next several weeks, you'll be changing into special clothes for our simulations."

There was a collective, if quiet groan from the class.

"So, Grimm, you're simply getting a head start. Carry on, all!"

The fight continued, and Sabrina fought her hardest, but she still lost. Fighting in a dress was _hard_. She was too afraid to fly because her underwear might show- and she didn't even know which underwear she was wearing- and she was afraid to fall because this was her one formal outfit, and if she messed it up, she'd be in trouble. Plus, she couldn't move as freely without pants on. How had women _lived_ when they had to wear that sort of clothes?

She resolved to ask Snow or Briar that when she had a chance. And to never wear skirts without shorts under them again.

But still, let it never be said that Sabrina Grimm did not rise to a challenge. She was determined to master the art of fighting wearing a skirt, even if it would never do her any good at all.


	64. The Tape

**AN~ Gnommish is not mine. Sorry for the long break between updates, but this chapter would not form right, and there was this thing called life... boyfriend+other friends+four jobs+two weeks away from computers+sleep+writer's block+necessities=lack of updates.**

_**Erika:**_** What wedding/honeymoon? Mine? I'm not even out of high school yet, I'd better not be getting married.**

_**Scarlet Wolf:**_** I like to wear leggings with my skirts. That makes it work. And yes, cameras make everything harder.**

_**RRB:**_** 0.0 That much of a reaction? I have fangirls... This is odd.**

_**Hiya**_**: I don't watch/read soul eater. I honestly don't really know what it's about. My friend likes it, though.**

_**Purpleflower23**_**: Farm? Cool. I personally like dresses, but I hate wearing them because it's too hard to move. Thanks for checking out my art stuff!**

_**EvilScrapbookerJW13:**_** Your show of care about my personal life is heartwarming. :) You're right about Daphne... she'll return soon.**

_**Cheeky Chica: **_**Thanks so much! I didn't break anything, thanks. Account advice: Don't be obnoxious, people hate that. And I recommend not begging for reviews.**

_**bubblez:**_** Thanks! I hope you didn't explode...**

* * *

Again, life continued normally for a while. Sabrina learned how to fight in not only a dress, but also a bathing suit, a hazmat suit, a heavy winter coat and a formal evening gown, which was even more difficult than a short dress, because it got in the way of the legs.

The other's training proceeded well, too, and Daphne began learning some of the more magical languages, like Gnommish. Red's posters spread through the town, getting more and more dynamic as she learned how to improve her art. Puck's prank designs became more elaborate and efficient, much to Sabrina's chagrin. Bella began studying with Nurse Spratt, putting her talents with science to good use.

Everything was fine, until Daphne found the tape.

She called everyone to the living room for a group meeting, and when they were all seated as comfortably as was possible in the too-small space, she said, "I think you all need to hear this." She glared pointedly at Sabrina, then stalked across the room to a tape player.

"What did I do this time?" Sabrina muttered to Puck, who shrugged. Then, seeing what Daphne was sticking in the tape deck, she froze. "Oh..."

"What is it?" Puck asked.

"A mistake." Sabrina said quietly as the tape began to play.

There was a brief scratching noise, then Sabrina's voice came crackling through the speakers. "Testing... testing... You know what? I'll just... Whatever. I hope this records. Right. So, this is Sabrina Grimm speaking, and I know I just made all of you decide to throw this tape out the window, I mean, you're the Scarlet Hand."

There was a collective gasp through the room, and Daphne shot Sabrina another accusatory glare.

The recording continued, "You hate me. But listen for a second, OK? Daphne's probably never going to speak to me again after this, but it's worth it. I mean, I'm saving he life. This is worth hearing, because I can get you out of the barrier. I know, you can kill me and get out, but I can get you out without anyone dying. Don't you want that? I mean, Briar's an everafter and a Grimm now. And so am I, and so is Daphne. You like everafters, right? You think they're better than humans. So you don't want to kill them, right? I have a way to keep you from having to. 'Course, I'm not going to just hand it over. You'll forgive me for not trusting you right off the bat. But if you're willing to take me up on this, meet me at..." There was a pause. "Oh, whatever. This is just a rough draft anyway. I'll fill that part in later. So meet me there and we'll negotiate."

Daphne clicked the tape off, and glared at Sabrina, then after a few seconds of silence, asked, "Well?"

Sabrina, not looking at any of them, said, "I can explain. I know you won't understand, Daph, because you see the world as black and white, and anything bad is bad, no matter what my motivation might be, but I do have a motivation, and... well. It was right after Baba Yaga died. And... I didn't want anyone else to die, and I though, I have a way to keep people I love from dying. Is it _right _for me to _not_ use that? I had it all planned out, too. I was going to meet them at a private, safe place, with a barrier around me, and I was going to swear a blood oath- I had Puck show me how to make one, remember?- my part would be that I'd let the hand out, and theirs would be that they would protect the people I cared about at all costs. I'd thought of every loophole they could possibly find, every monkey wrench they'd try to throw at me, and I'd come up with a solution. I was ready to go through with it, because I thought I'd found a way to save you all."

"So why didn't you?" Veronica asked. "At least, I assume you didn't?"

Sabrina shook her head and spoke again, with a hollow voice. "I remembered what Dad did, how that made me feel. He was trying to protect us, but because he didn't give us the choice, we all got mad at him. And I thought you guys deserved a choice."

"I'm proud of you, _liebling_." Granny said.

Sabrina looked up, shocked. So did Daphne.

Granny smiled a little. "We all get tempted sometimes. And we all want to keep our family safe. But you did the right thing, in the end, deciding to let us make our own decisions. It showed a great deal of faith and trust in us."

"I still think she shouldn't have made it in the first place." Daphne said hotly.

"Maybe she shouldn't have." Henry said, "But she didn't send it off, in the end. Looks like I have a few lessons to learn from my daughter."

Jake looked around. "Can anyone here- other than Daphne- honestly begrudge Sabrina? I mean, who hasn't been tempted to do something drastic to keep the family safe? Look at what Charming did!"

"And look at how Snow reacted." Sabrina pointed out dully, looking back at the floor.

"Sabrina." Puck said, touching her shoulder. "Yeah, it was stupid. But none of us are mad at you. Actually look at us, and you might see that."

Sabrina looked up, and saw that the only person glaring at her was Daphne. She grinned a little sheepishly. "Sorry. Guess I'm just so used to you guys getting mad at me for trying to help that I figured this time wouldn't be any different."

Daphne snorted.

Sabrina sighed and turned to her sister. "Can you forgive me? Please? I hate it when you're mad at me. I know, it was stupid. But I was grieving, and I wanted to protect you. You used to like it when I did that. And I didn't send it. I made the tape, but I... I let you make your own decision, Daffy. I didn't want to. But I did."

"I don't forgive you yet." Daphne said mulishly. "You didn't have to make that thing. I'll be fine."

"Daph, this is _serious_." Sabrina said exasperatedly. "You. Could. Die. Maybe that doesn't sink in because you're younger, and I'm glad, but this isn't a movie. Anyone who falls down out there isn't getting back up. I thought Baba Yaga," She swallowed, "I thought she would have shown you that. I guess not. All I wanted to do was keep you safe. And I didn't even send the tape off. I never even made the real tape. Why do you have to be such a white knight about everything?"

"Because you're supposed to be my role model." Daphne snapped. "And you keep messing up."

"Yeah, well, I'm not perfect." Sabrina said with a sigh. "I make mistakes, just like everyone else. I'm trying to do the right thing in a messed up world, and I screw up. What do you want me to do? Stop trying?"

"No." Daphne said. "Just stop making mistakes."

"I'm trying." Sabrina said. "It's hard, though."

"Try harder." Daphne muttered.

"I'm working on it." Sabrina said. "Could you try to cut me some slack, though? And maybe take the war a little more seriously?"

"Fine." Daphne sighed, deflating. "I forgive you... this time."

The family, who had been watching the exchange with interest, began to go back to what they had been doing before Daphne called the meeting, except for Veronica.

"Sabrina, I'm proud of you." Veronica said. "And I'm glad that you brought up taking the war seriously, because I wanted to talk to the two of you about that- there's a chance there will be some pretty major battles, you know that, right?"

The two girls nodded.

Veronica smiled grimly. "Now, you two know I want to keep you safe. And I have to make sure you will be taking this seriously, because if you go into a battle and you're fooling around, or not protecting yourself properly, you might get seriously injured... or worse. So I want you to know that... I, at least, won't forbid you from fighting, but I will be watching you two, and if I don't think you're serious about this, I'll keep you at home. Capische?"

The girls nodded again, and Daphne asked, "Am I still grounded?"

"It's been how long now?" Veronica asked. "It's November, and you've been grounded since... August?"

"Ish." Daphne agreed.

Veronica smiled. "I think it's been long enough. You're all free, as far as I'm concerned. Go Christmas shopping or something."

Daphne jumped up with glee and ran out of the room.

Sabrina, shaking her head, got up to follow, then stopped. "I've been here for two years." She told her mother. "Almost exactly, actually. Weird, huh? It doesn't seem like that long. Or it seems like I've always been here. I'm not sure."

Veronica smiled and gave Sabrina a sideways hug. "Time is funny that way. I'm sorry you weren't here for your whole life. I wish you could have been."

"I... sort of do." Sabrina said, cocking her head to one side. "Because I'd probably have had a lot less issues and stuff. But New York, and you and Dad disappearing, that made me who I am today. And I don't know who I'd be otherwise."

Veronica ruffled Sabrina's hair. "You're a good kid, Sabrina."

"Not as good as I'd like to be." Sabrina muttered, ducking her head.

"You know..." Veronica said thoughtfully. "If you could combine you and Daphne, you could create the perfect person..."

Sabrina snorted. "Right. With my luck, we'd get the bad side of Daphne and the bad side of me and have one giant mess."

Veronica laughed, and the two walked off together. It wasn't until later that Sabrina realized it was the first time her mother's laugh hadn't been shadowed by pain for the baby since before the kidnapping.


	65. Cuffed

**AN~ This time around, the chapter went in a whole new direction. I was kind of surprised, but I think I like it better, actually. Thanks to everyone who offered their sympathy about my massive mistake.**

**Also, an announcement! I feel that you all, as wonderful reviewers, deserve something special! So I've got awards for three randomly chosen review numbers (annoyingly enough, one of the numbers happened to be from my sister, which is strange) so, Winged Water, ****Deathprincess2343, and loverofbooks4eva, review this chapter and you'll receive your prize! Not sure what it will be yet, so feel free to make suggestions.**

_**Cheeky Chica: **_**Did I say that about your story? (now I feel like a jerk) Isn't it? I'm still very much in awe that there is a manga being made about MY fanfiction!**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** Made mine, too! :) I've rewritten it, now. I live in a place where the farms are dying out and being replaced by monotonyvilles.**

_**Puckabrina:**_** Thanks for that, I will finish it, but the mistake there just kind of got me down. By the by, why did you write half your review as if you were writing to someone other than the author (me)? I'm glad you like my writing style, I'm just confused.**

_**Scarlet Wolf:**_** Yeah, it was a long time...**

* * *

"New assignment, kiddos!" The Beast called in class the next Monday, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

"Why are there handcuffs?" Bella whispered to Sabrina.

Sabrina shrugged in response, saying, "I don't know, but I don't like it. Anything involving handcuffs and me is never good."

Bella blinked at her. "What have you ever done that involved handcuffs?"

"Well, see, first there was this one set of foster parents that handcuffed me and Daphne to a radiator." Sabrina began, "But then, before you moved in, Puck-"

"Oooh, Puck handcuffed you?" Bella waggled her eyebrows. "I didn't think you'd agree to anything like that, Sabrina."

Sabrina glared at Bella and smacked her lightly. "Not like that, you perv. I'll explain when we get home."

"All right." Bella agreed. "But why do you think he has them?"

"I don't- Oh no." Sabrina finished.

"Oh no what?" Bella asked.

"I have a guess." Sabrina said. "Let's just hope I'm wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Bella asked again.

But the Beast continued then, effectively cutting off any response from Sabrina by shouting, "You'll each have a partner in this project. I've picked them already, based on gender, position in the war, and one other factor. It's up to the two of you to figure out what that factor is. You'll find the list on the back of the door. When you find your name, come see me, unless there's a check by your partner. Then go back to your seat."

"I knew it." Sabrina groaned, as the class got up as a whole and clustered by the sign, trying to see their names.

Sabrina forced her way through the crowd, using a combination of force, agility, and sneakiness to get close enough to the board to see who her partner was- Red. Without checking to see who else was partnered with who, she turned around and fought her way back out, grabbing Red- she was standing on the outskirts, waiting miserably for the crowd to die down a bit- on the way back, and pulling her to the Beast.

"We're partners." Sabrina said. "Now the only questions are how long, if any of the adults know, and what we're supposed to get out of it- but I think I can guess that one."

"What's that?" Red asked, but by then they'd reached the Beast, and it was too late to explain.

Sabrina's theory was right- the two were handcuffed together, and then they headed back to a pair of seats to wait for the rest of the class to finish.

"What do you think we're supposed to get out of it?" Red asked. "And why do we have to figure it out for ourselves?"

"I bet you it's because it's different for everybody." Sabrina said. "And I also bet you can figure it out for yourself. What would you and I gain from being stuck to each other?"

"Um, well, I'm quiet and you're loud." Red said. "So... I don't know. Won't it kind of just be normal?"

Sabrina smiled grimly. "It could be, but I bet we're supposed to learn from each other. Which means you're supposed to speak out, and I'm supposed to step back out of the leadership role." She dropped her head onto the table and moaned, "This is going to be impossible, isn't it?"

"Well, we could just be normal." Red suggested.

Sabrina shook her head. "We'll get a horrible grade. We need to do this right. Besides, you should speak out. You have good ideas. And I probably should shut up and listen more."

Red almost nodded, then stopped herself. Sabrina smiled dryly.

"All right, buckos, questions?" The Beast called.

Puck, who was handcuffed to Peter, raised his hand and asked, "Can I switch partners?"

"No." The Beast said shortly. "Next."

Daphne raised her hand, pulling Bella's along with it accidentally, and asked, "How long are we stuck like this?"

"You get the handcuffs off next Monday in class." The Beast said, then nodded to Renee, whose hand was also up.

"Can I be exempt?" She asked, then looked at Peaseblossom and added, "No offense meant to my partner, it's just-"

"No, you cannot." The Beast cut her off. "Next."

Art, handcuffed to Tim, asked, "How are we supposed to get to all our classes and stuff? For that matter, how are we supposed to get _home_? Most of us live across town from our partners."

"That's up to you to figure out." The Beast said.

Moth, who was handcuffed to Natalie, asked, "Do our parents know about this?"

"No." The Beast said.

"What about the teachers?" Ariel, attached to Jonas, asked.

"Of course they know." The Beast said. "They had to be informed you'd be missing half your classes, didn't they?"

Sabrina very much wanted to point out that it might be nice for the parents to know that half their kids wouldn't be home, but she held her tongue.

"Can we switch partners?" Natalie asked, looking distastefully at Moth, who sneered right back. "Like, can I have a girl who's not a complete drama queen that hates physical activity?"

"Nat." The Beast said quietly. "I gave you your partner for a reason. So that you could learn something. And I put a lot of thought into this, so you'd better appreciate it, and _stop complaining_. Kay?"

Natalie nodded, and Sabrina watched with interest, noting that The Beast had given Natalie a nickname. There appeared to be some fondness between those two after all.

"Any other questions?" The Beast asked, back to his usual loud mode again.

Puck raised his hand. "You do know I can pick locks, right?"

"Doesn't matter, the cuffs are enchanted." The Beast said. "And if you get out of them, I'll know, and you will most definitely get a bad grade. Any more_legitimate_ questions?"

Nobody said anything.

"Good." The Beast said matter-of-fact-ly. "Then I'll leave you to it. I expect you to at least have a guess about why you were paired together by Wednesday, and I want a final answer by Friday."

Sabrina turned back to Red, saying, "Well, we're good, then, I guess. 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm right. What do you think?"

"Probably." Red said. "Like Moth and Natalie are opposites- Moth's all cunning and Natalie can take anything."

"Exactly." Sabrina said, marveling a little at how much Red noticed. "So, for classes. Which do you think we should go to?"

Red stared at her. "How should I know?"

"Red, you have to make decisions." Sabrina reminded her. "As in, for this project."

"But..." Red trailed off, "but I don't know _how_ to make decisions."

"'Course you do, silly." Sabrina smiled, a little exasperated. "You put on clothes this morning, right? That was a decision. Now go on, tell me how you think we should split it up?"

"Well, I guess we could just go to... I dunno, my classes today and yours tomorrow, and then mine again Thursday and yours Friday?" Red suggested tentatively.

"Sounds great!" Sabrina encouraged, trying not to lay it on too thickly, happy that Red had picked something she agreed made sense. "What about Monday, though? Do you want to go to your classes or mine? Or split it? And what about next period? It's a good thing this is the second to last class of the day, it gives us time to work it out. So, what do you think?"

Red, looking overwhelmed, said, "I... I dunno. I have art today. I'd kind of like to go to that. What do you have? Is it OK if you miss it?"

Sabrina nodded. "It's just English, one day won't kill me."

Red smiled. "Thanks. I have a project due, and I'd like to finish it today."

"And what about Monday?" Sabrina asked. "Do you want to-"

But Sabrina was cut off by the bell ringing, and it was suddenly time to head off to last period. The two girls stood and tried to worm their way through a crowd of people who were trying to pull their partners in opposite directions. Without thinking about it, Sabrina took charge and ducked and swerved through the crowd, not hesitating as she saw openings and pathways between the crowd. Red followed meekly.

They'd reached Red's art class by the time Sabrina realized what she'd done, and she smacked herself in the forehead.

"What?" Red asked, sitting.

Sabrina sat, too, saying, "I completely forgot to let you take charge. All my good intentions, and I blow the project in the first hour."

"It's OK." Red said. "If I'd been leading, we would have been late." The bell rang, then, emphasizing her point. "What if..."

"What if what?" Sabrina asked, when it became evident that Red wasn't going to finish.

"It's nothing." Red shook her head. "A stupid idea."

Sabrina looked at Red skeptically and said, "You have yet to have a stupid idea that I've heard about. You notice everything, and you have a very unique way of looking at things. What's your idea?"

"Well, since you're good at leading and I'm good at following, maybe we shouldn't just... expect each other to switch roles all of a sudden." Red said tentatively. "'Cause we're not designed like that. Maybe we should sort of coach each other on how to do it when we can, and when we can't we should just do what we're best at. 'Cause there might be an emergency or something, and we won't want me leading then unless I absolutely have to."

Sabrina smiled at Red. "Smart. Why didn't I think of that?"

Red shrugged. "You were probably too busy trying to make sure you did the best you could on the project. You try way too hard for that class sometimes."

"It's the only one I'm good at!" Sabrina protested. "Plus, it's kind of one of three that I'm taking that have any bearing on real life."

"What are the others?" Red asked.

"History, 'cause it's about what happened to the everafter after their stories ended, 'cause it explains their motives and stuff, so that we all understand each other, and English, 'cause it's the original fairy tales." Sabrina said. "I don't get why you guys have to take those. They're _about_ you."

"Well, we're-" Red stopped, because the teacher was standing.

He was a young Asian guy, not much older than Sabrina, with a buzz cut and the fuzzy beginnings of a mustache. He had a paintbrush tucked behind his ear, but as he began to speak, he began to fiddle with it. "You all know what to do. Supplies and your artwork are in the other room. Get to work. Oh, if you're a guest, come see me. I'll give you an assignment."

"Want to get your assignment first?" Red asked. "That way we only have to make one trip to the supply closet."

Sabrina eyed the crowd around the supply closet warily. Nobody seemed to be doing much better at working with their partner here than in her previous class. "Sure." She nodded. "That way we can avoid the horde."

The two stood and headed over to the desk, where a few other handcuffed couples were standing.

"Most of you have taken some sort of art class before now." He said, nodding at the familiar faces. "I'd like you all to draw or paint me a picture of the person you're attached to. But show me a side of them we don't normally see. It's due Friday. Your partners can show you where the supplies are. And those of you who _are_ in my class, once you've finished your project, I want you to do the same thing, but you can have an extension if you don't finish in time. Get to work!"

The others headed off, but Red didn't seem to want to move, so Sabrina studied the art teacher, whose name she didn't know. He looked like he was of an age to share classes with Peaseblossom, and he had gotten a glint in his eyes as he looked at her, an almost absolute sign of Scarlet Hand membership. A few months ago, she would have decided right then that he was the enemy and she hated him, but... well, The Beast had a human side, too. Maybe this boy had a reason.

"Excuse me, Stephen?" Red asked quietly, as the man/boy hadn't noticed her standing there.

"Huh?" Stephen looked up, "Oh, it's you, Red. What is it?"

"Your name is Stephen?" Sabrina blinked. "That's... not what I was expecting."

"It was Ybin before." Stephen said. "I Americanized it."

"So, Stephen, can I borrow your paintbrush?" Red asked, her voice getting softer as she went on.

Stephen stared at her, then, after a long pause, said, "If this was _anyone_ else, I'd say no. Actually, I should say no now. We're enemies, Red, even if this is a neutral zone."

"But..." Red trailed off. "But we're artists. And art brings people together."

"How do I know you won't use it to paint monsters that will bring our side down?" Stephen asked.

"You don't, I guess." Red shrugged. "But your paintbrush is what I need for the final touches. I've done everything else, all I need is the highlights and a few little things. I... I swear I'll give it back as soon as I'm finished. I swear on anything you like." She finished with rush.

Stephen looked at his paintbrush for a long minute, then, with a sigh, handed it over. "But don't let anyone see, or they'll all want to use it. I'm a teacher, I can't be playing favorites. But you're right. There aren't many real artists around here, and we have to stick together, I guess."

Red smiled at him and took the paintbrush, then hurried over to the other room as Sabrina followed.

The art room was on the highest floor of classrooms, and hadn't been changed much from its original state as a one-bedroom apartment. The kitchen had been turned into the machinery room, where they kept all the pottery equipment and some for glassblowing and glazing and such, the bathroom remained what it had been, the bedroom had become the supply closet, and the living room the classroom. All four of the rooms on this floor were set up similarly, because about halfway through converting the building, the crew had had a stroke of genius and realized how much less work that would be.

"What were you saying about everafters taking history and English like we have them?" Sabrina asked, grabbing a piece of paper from the pile Red pointed out. "Before class started?"

"Well, we don't know _all_ our histories." Red said, starting to fill a cup with water, then turning to the shelf that held the paint. "We mostly just know our own and a few friends. I don't really know anyone else's. I mean, I was kind of... out of it for a while, but still. It's like... I dunno. But we don't really associate with everyone. We know _of_ each other, most of the time, but we don't really _know_ each other. And there's some fairy tales I've never heard."

Sabrina nodded, grabbing a pencil and an eraser. "Makes sense. After all, if there's three hundred or so kids alone, not counting those who were kids but then grew up, how many adults must there be?"

"A lot." Red said, simply grabbing the rest of the paint and dumping it into a crate. There wasn't much left. "Do you need anything else?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't even know where to start. And I'm not a very good artist, so it won't matter anyway."

"Don't say that." Red said. "You're not terrible. I'll help you."

"But I don't want you to see it." Sabrina said. "Not 'til I'm done."

"All right." Red smiled, only the tiniest bit hurt. "I understand."

"Actually..." Sabrina raced back, pulling Red with her and almost spilling the water, "I'd like it if you helped me get better. How about I get a practice sheet?"

"Okay." Red smiled, steadying her armload. "That sounds good. Let's get started!"


	66. Oops

**AN~ Pretty much just me letting the characters bounce off each other this chapter. No real plot or dramatic insight, just some fun. :)**

**Only two of my prizewinners responded. How funny is it that my sister is the one who didn't? Anyway, loverofbooks4eva made a plotline request which is fulfilled at the end of this chapter, and ****Deathprincess2343 requested that she be recognized in an AN, so here goes: **

_******Deathprincess2343**_******: The reason I don't normally reply to you via AN is that I prefer to use the PM system, it's much more personal and it helps me remember what they hey we've been talking about. However, you are a wonderful, regular reviewer, and I'm so greatful that you (and most of the rest of my reviewers) have the patience to read this huge story and wait for me to update and deal with my crap. :) You are appreciated, and don't you forget it!**

_**Puckabrina(insert many threes that were supposed to be hearts here):**_** Longer? Most of the time people complain about how LONG this is... And my minimum is 3,000 words per chapter. They usually average around 3,100. I find that much longer than that and it's hard to read in one sitting. Thanks, though!**

_**squirrel101:**_** Thanks, and I'll try.**

* * *

Sabrina and Red had just sat down to get to work when Sabrina realized something. "Red? Are you left handed or right handed?"

"Left handed, why...?" Red trailed off, looking down at their handcuffs. Her left hand was attached to Sabrina's right.

"Because I'm right handed." Sabrina said.

"This is going to be hard, isn't it?" Red asked as the two of them stared at their cuffed wrists.

Sabrina nodded. "How about you finish your project and I try to keep my arm out of your way, then you help me get better? I don't want you handing in your project late. Ah... drat. Can we pretend I didn't say that? This letting you lead thing is harder than I thought it would be."

"Why?" Red asked. "It's a good suggestion. I probably would have said it anyway."

"All right, we'll do that." Sabrina said, watching as Red squeezed several colors of paint onto a pallet and began mixing them, trying to keep her arm from hampering the other girl too much. "So, you need the magic paintbrush why? It, like, brings the things you draw to life, right?"

Red nodded, still mixing. "If I use it for my highlights, shadows, and other final touches, then it won't bring the painting to life, but the things in it will look alive. I mean, I still have to know what I'm painting and make it look recognizeable and stuff, but it'll add a little extra touch. I know 'cause I've seen Stephen do it. And I want this painting to be perfect."

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "I mean, other than it being art and you trying to improve."

"It's for Mamma Briar's birthday." Red said. "I want to say thank you for everything."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "I'd forgotten about that. I need to get her a present."

Red began painting, and Sabrina moved her arm as she did, following as closely as possible. As she watched Red paint, Sabrina realized something.

"Hey, Red?" She asked, "Did you notice anyone walking around with handcuffs on before last period?"

"No, why?" Red asked absently.

"'Cause if _I_ didn't notice it, and _you_ didn't notice it, and nobody else mentioned it, that means there's a reason we couldn't see it, I bet." Sabrina said. "Which means..." She looked down at the cuffs, which glistened a little too brightly, and said, "They're enchanted. You can only see them if the Beast tells you they're there, I bet."

Red looked up. "Really? How are the kids going to explain this to their parents, then? I mean, I guess a lot of them don't actually _live_ with their parents, 'cause they're everafters, and a lot of the ones that _do_, their parents take the Beast's class, too, but still. There's got to be a bunch of people whose parents don't know."

Sabrina shrugged. "I'm just glad our family agreed with Snow about continuing ed. Go back to painting."

Red did, with a smile, and Sabrina kept watching as the flat painting came to life before her eyes.

"You're good." She said. "Like, really good. I knew you were talented before, but... wow. This is amazing."

Red's face turned the same color as her shirt, and she ducked her head. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course." Sabrina said. "Briar's going to love it. 'Course, you're going to have to do something just as elaborate for Uncle Jake's birthday, now, too..."

"I don't mind." Red grinned. "I'd do anything for them. They're my family."

"Well, yeah, but..." Sabrina looked at red quizzically. "You know what? Just yeah. You've got the right idea there."

Red looked at Sabrina, with her head tilted to one side. "How do you mean?"

"About appreciating family." Sabrina said. "I guess you do, 'cause you didn't have one for ages or something. And I should, 'cause I didn't for two years, but I take them all for granted. You make me feel all guilty inside."

Red said nothing, picking up the magic paintbrush again and getting back to work.

Sabrina grinned. "Yeah, that was kind of sappy-movie of me, wasn't it?"

Red nodded.

"Holy-" Sabrina said, sitting up straight. "We have to go into the bathroom at the same time! How on earth are we supposed to shower?"

Red pulled her blend-with-my-shirt routine again, whispering, "Maybe Daddy Jake can... do something... so that we have privacy..."

"I hope so." Sabrina said. "I wonder who he's going to be stuck with..."

Red shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we get home. How are we going to _change_?"

"Puck has a spell he uses on his clothes so his wings don't get stuck." Sabrina said. "He let me use it a few times, he might do it again. So we can just pull them through our arm."

Red shuddered. "It sounds weird..."

"It _feels_ weird." Sabrina said. "But it's either that or wear only shirts with one sleeve, and it's too cold for that."

Red sighed. "I don't think I like this project."

"Betcha nobody does." Sabrina said. "But it's useful. You done?"

"Al...most." Red said, flicking her brush a bit. "Just a _bit_ more, and then I'm... good!"

"So do you need to hand it in now or can we stay seated or what?" Sabrina asked.

"I have to hand it in." Red said. "But I should wait 'til it's dry. Want me to help you draw better while we wait?"

"Please." Sabrina said.

They sat there for a few minutes, then Red said, "You have to draw something first, so I can see what you're doing wrong."

"Oh." Sabrina said, looking at her paper. "Right." She reached over to the pencil sitting on the table, pulling Red with her accidentally, then slowly, regretfully, began drawing.

Red showed Sabrina a few tricks during class, and by the time it was over, Sabrina had improved... slightly. Drawing would never be her strong suit, but she thought she might get a passing grade on her project if Red kept helping. Red handed in her own project after the final bell rang, and the two waited for the other handcuffed duos to struggle out the door before they headed down themselves.

Outside, they found a large tangle of people, mostly from their study group, not seeming to be doing anything in particular other than complaining.

"Pan!" Puck's complaint rang out over the others, "Shut up, would you? I don't care if Grimm thinks you're OK, or if you're on our side, it doesn't mean we have to be friends!"

"They've been like this since school got out." Daphne told Sabrina and Red, noticing their arrival.

"Wonderful." Sabrina said, going to pass a hand across her face then stopping when she realized that she was dragging Red's arm along with her. "Sorry, Red. Daph, do you know where they're going today? Tell me it's the Darlings'."

"Nope." Bella said, joining the conversation (not entirely by choice). "They're coming home to Granny because most of the lost boys are stuck to other people."

"Dangit." Sabrina whined. "So how's everyone else been doing?"

"We're not sure who's going to die first, Moth or Natalie." Bella said. "I'm thinking about starting a betting pool. I think Moth, what do you think?"

"Dunno, I think Natalie's gonna hold back 'cause of her dad." Sabrina said. "So Moth might kill her first."

"But Natalie's got that brute strength thing..." Daphne said. "She might even accidentally squish Moth in her sleep or something."

"But Moth's creative and devious." Sabrina pointed out. "She'll do anything to get what she wants, and I betcha she just thinks that this is totally cramping her style and would rather have a body than a jockette to deal with."

"Except Moth likes poison, right?" Red asked. "How's she supposed to get poison when she's stuck to Natalie?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I dunno, I just know I wouldn't trust this girl as far as I can throw her."

"But you could go all 'anti-gravity' and throw her to the moon." Daphne pointed out. "And she has wings, so she could fly."

"Fine." Sabrina snapped. "I wouldn't trust her as far as you can throw her while she's sleeping."

"That saying doesn't make sense to me." Red said. "It never did..."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Well, trust can't really be measured in distance..." Red said unsurely. "Or am I just being stupid?"

"No, you're right." Daphne said. "They don't really go together."

Puck and Peter, meanwhile, had lifted off the ground and were trying to fly in opposite directions, still shouting.

"They're going to hurt themselves like that." Wendell told Bella, grabbing her free hand in his own. "Digging the metal into their skin like that."

"Hi, sweetie." Bella smiled, then looked at Mustardseed, who Wendell was attached to. "How've you two been making out?"

Sabrina snickered. "Making out... hah."

"Way to be mature." Bella said scornfully.

"Sorry, had to." Sabrina grinned, watching Puck and Peter. "So, how are we getting home? I can fly Red, obviously, but neither of you can fly." She glanced at Daphne and Bella. "I don't think Puck and Peter are going to be very helpful."

"We can wait for the grown-ups." Daphne said. "They're here, and I think they're doing the project, too."

"Good thing." Sabrina said. "'Cause Red and I think the handcuffs are spelled so you can only see them if the Beast tells you they're there."

"That explains a lot." Mustardseed nodded. "It makes sense."

"So where are you two going?" Bella asked.

"Mustardseed's." Wendell said. "He's got more space."

"Anyone notice who else is paired with who?" Sabrina asked, glancing around. "I see Wendy's daughter whose name I'm blanking on is stuck to Alice."

"Jane, and yeah." Bella said. "I don't think the Beast thought that one through. They're pretty well matched."

"Jack from Jack and Jill is stuck to Blue." Red said, pointing. "I guess 'cause neither of them picked a side yet..."

"Hansel and Tobey are stuck together." Daphne said. "And Gretel and Jill are attached, and most of the lost boys are handcuffed to other lost boys, and- Dad and Uncle Jake are together!"

"Wait, what?" Sabrina whipped her head around. "Wow. I knew they were different, but..."

"Not that different, yeah." Daphne finished.

"And your mom is stuck to Goldi." Wendell said.

"You know, I think the Beast just wanted to torture a lot of us." Daphne said. "I don't think it's anything to do with learning from each other, I think he's just... sadtastic."

"You mean sadistic?" Mustardseed corrected.

"No, I mean sadtastic." Daphne said. "It's my new word. What's sadistic mean?"

"Someone who gets a kick out of other people's pain." Sabrina explained. "Like you were just describing the Beast. What's sadtastic mean?"

"Really depressing or someone to feel bad for, only lots more." Daphne said.

"What about Granny and Briar and the rest?" Bella asked. "Does anyone see them?"

Sabrina shook her head, going back to watching the air battle. "I don't think either of them are going to give up anytime soon, do you?"

"What?" Bella turned. "Oh, you mean Puck and Peter."

"Don't think so." Daphne said. "Maybe you should intervene."

"Why me?" Sabrina asked. "I don't mind breaking it up, but I don't like this 'you' stuff. Maybe if you'd said 'we' I'd be interested."

"Fine, _we_ should interfere." Daphne said. "But I think you'd be better at yelling at them."

"Dunno, you're pretty loud when you want to be." Sabrina teased. "C'mon, Red, up we go!"

Red grabbed Sabrina's hand tightly as the older girl lifted off, heading for Puck and Peter, who were still obstinately trying to fly in opposite directions.

"How am I supposed to help from the ground?" Daphne called after her, then turned to the others, "Really, how am I? I mean, first she's all like, 'no! I won't do it on my own,' and then she leaves! How are any of us supposed to help from down here?"

Wendell shook his head. "It's Sabrina. Don't question. You should know that by now. She raises a fuss but doesn't mean it half the time."

"I think she means it usually." Bella said. "But not all the time. She does like to complain."

"Sh!" Mustardseed said. "I want to watch."

"How do you need to hear to watch?" Daphne asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"You tell people to be quiet when you're trying to watch a movie, don't you?" Mustardseed asked. "Same concept. Now please be quiet. I'm trying to _pay attention_."

It was worth paying attention to, too. Puck and Peter were both still yelling at each other while Sabrina tried to yell louder and Red simply hung on for dear life, at first.

"Guys!" Sabrina snapped, finally, carefully maneuvering herself in between the two fighters to grab the chain connecting their handcuffs. She grabbed that and yanked, getting the boys' attention.

"What was that for?" Peter whined.

"To make you two pay attention to me." Sabrina snapped. "Were you not listening to the Beast in class today? You two are supposed to be _learning_ from each other, not ripping each other's arms out of their sockets!"

"I can't get along with him!" Both boys protested as Sabrina dragged them back groundward.

"You sound like you and Sabrina." Daphne told Puck. "Back before you learned to be friends."

"Back before Sabrina could fight back, you mean." Bella said.

"That, too." Daphne agreed. "But maybe they can be all friends and stuff too, once they get past this stage."

"No thank you!" Puck snapped. "I don't want my relationship with Peter paralelling Sabrina's and mine at all!"

"Why not?" Mustardseed asked. "The two of you are really quite alike, you know."

"No we're not!" Peter complained. "He's a jerk and a fairy who mistreats pixies and he likes _math_ and he's growing up!"

"So what If I am?" Puck asked hotly.

"The only thing we really had in common other than looks was our eternal youth!" Peter exclaimed. "And you're aging! We're _nothing_ alike!"

"I know we aren't!" Puck rolled his eyes. "And who says things like 'eternal youth' in real conversations anyway?"

"What's wrong with how I talk?" Peter asked.

"It sounds like how Pinnochio talks, that's what!" Puck stuck his tongue out.

"You know Pinnochio?" Daphne interrupted with a squeal. "How did I miss this?"

"Dunno." Puck said. "He looks like he should be in your classes, he's about the right age. Anyway, Peter, talking like that old man stuck in a kid's body isn't really something I'd be proud of if I were you."

"Well, I wouldn't be proud of smelling like something that just died if I were you, either!"

"Guys, would you shut up?" Wendell asked, exasperated. "I don't get it. You were getting along fine, before. Why the arguments all of a sudden?"

"They had a truce kind of for a while." Bella explained. "For everyone's sakes. But I guess being stuck together was too much for it."

"Why are we all ignoring the fact that I've been living in the same place as Pinnochio for a year and not know it?" Daphne asked.

"Because the rest of us figured you knew already." Sabrina said. "He's in a couple of my classes. Nice enough kid, but he talks like a college professor and always complains about being stuck as a seven year old."

"Well I'm going to go find him!" Daphne shouted, running off and pulling Bella with her. "Come on, Red!"

"Shall we?" Red asked, looking at Sabrina.

"Daphne!" Bella shrieked, trying to keep up with the shorter, stockier girl she was handcuffed to, "We don't even know where he _is_!"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "We can help Bella, I guess."

She started to follow Daphne, forgetting that she was still holding the chain of Puck and Peter's handcuffs. As she pulled them, they resisted, both assuming that it was the other boy pulling, and Sabrina and Red, overwhelmed by the boy's greater weight and strength, fell back against the other two, and as they all landed on top of each other, Sabrina's lips crashed right into Puck's.


	67. Pinnocchio

**AN~ Mysteriously disappearing Wendell and Mustardseed have mysteriously disappeared...**

_**RRB:**_** Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! The paintbrush is just something I thought deserved to exist. Yes, the accidental kiss was the plot request. I'm sorry you feel it's overdone. I promise you, they won't end up together in ten seconds now. She has her shading markers back now! I was excited! I love the manga. Everything is so much funnier when it's drawn instead of written.**

_**Madison**_**: Well, I updated. Was it soon enough?**

_**Agd:**_** Yeah, just bit... That's where the title came from. :) Does your name stand for anything, perchance?**

_**PinkAndBlack:**_** I know what the word 'latter' means, by the way. :) May I recommend the story 'Jealousy' by secret scraps.? That's a Sabrina/Peter then Sabrina/Puck story. There's also 'Another Everafter Gets Stuck in Fairyport Landing' by kit-kat003, 'Grimm Fanfic' by elovesbooks, 'Kidnapped' by Pink-And-Green-Jellybean, and 'In The Middle' by soccerchick1818. I suggest you go read those, because, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, I don't want to do a 'Peter Pan goes after Sabrina' story. There are plenty of good ones out there, you just have to look, and I want something different. Just use the site's search engine for something in the Sisters Grimm category with Peter Pan in it. Thanks for the idea, though.**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** You're welcome! Glad you liked it!**

_**Emily Rowland:**_** I know, I know, but I had to. There was just so much potential with that cocoon that MB didn't use, and I wanted to play around with developing powers. Know what's funny? You like the story, but don't like the WHOLE PREMISE of the story. I found that odd and amusing. I also never quite agreed with that line, because her powerful friends and family all have magic. I think what Granny Relda was saying is that Sabrina can USE magic, but she doesn't NEED it.**

* * *

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Puck said, backing up. "I know you love me, Grimm, but, I'm sorry, I just don't feel the same."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and shoved herself off Puck's chest, untangling herself from Red in the process. "You wish, fairy boy." She said, though her red face lessened the effect of her words.

"Did you two just do what I think you just did?" Peter asked, pushing himself up.

"They did." Red affirmed.

"It was an accident!" Sabrina snapped. "Because you two were being thickheaded!"

"Don't you try to blame this on me!" Puck protested. "If you hadn't been holding the chain, it wouldn't have happened! It's as much your fault as mine!"

"Right. Like last time was my fault?" Sabrina asked skeptically.

"That was an entirely different matter!" Puck said. "And, yes, I would say that was your fault!"

"You jumped me!" Sabrina screeched. "I had nothing to do with it!"

"Your stupid puberty virus infected me, and then you said something that set it off!" Puck yelled. "I wasn't acting of my own free will!"

"Of course not." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Which is why you had a hissy fit when I didn't respond the way you thought I would."

"I did not!" Puck snapped, standing and pulling Peter with him.

"Wait, what happened?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, but I bet Daphne will want to." Red smiled impishly.

"Nothing!" Sabrina snapped. "Nothing happened! At all! Just like nothing happened now!"

"So 'nothing' translates into the two of you kissing, right?" Peter asked. "You mean this has happened before."

"No, she absolutely doesn't!" Puck said. "Or if she does, it was only in her dreams!"

"My nightmares, maybe!" Sabrina rolled her eyes, not feeling the slightest bit guilty for lying out her behind.

"Weren't we going to go follow Daphne?" Red reminded Sabrina.

"_You_ were, maybe." Puck said. "_I_ wasn't."

"What if I want to see what happens?" Peter asked. "I bet it'll be funny."

"Well, you'll have to deal." Puck said. "Because the way Pinocchio talks creeps me out."

"Good idea." Sabrina said. "You two stay here and... argue some more or something, we'll go find Daphne and poor Bella. Bye!"

Sabrina ran off quickly, pulling Red with her, leaving Puck and Peter to wonder what had just happened. She was still running and beginning to realize she had no idea where Daphne had gone when Red spoke up.

"Maybe we should... fly or something." Red panted. "'Cause I'm getting tired, and we'd get a better view of everybody then."

Sabrina stopped, then smacked her forehead. "I'm supposed to be letting you make the decisions. I totally forgot. Crap!"

"It..." Red panted, "would have been nice if you'd... remembered... earlier."

"Sorry." Sabrina offered Red her hand, unfurling her wings. "I'll try to be better about it later. It's just... well, I was a bit..."

"Distracted?" Red suggested, grabbing Sabrina's hand as the taller girl took off. "Surprised? Shaken up?"

"That last one." Sabrina said, flying higher. "That was _not_ what I wanted to happen. Be glad you still look like a little kid. You don't have to worry about stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?" Red asked.

"Accidents. And coincidences." Sabrina said. "Now people are going to think we're together even _more_, as if they didn't enough, and Bella's going to throw a fit, and so is Daphne, and Puck's either going to get awkward on me or tease me about it for _ages_..."

"What if you just... pretend it didn't hapen?" Red asked.

"It won't work." Sabrina said. "It never works right away. It takes time to mostly forget about it. Do you see Daphne or Pinnochio?"

"No." Red said. "I see the path of destruction, though. Daphne knocked a lot of people over."

"Which way?" Sabrina asked. "I'm not seeing it."

Red pointed, and Sabrina began flying in the same direction as the chaos, searching for Daphne.

"I'm not too young for that confusion stuff, you know." Red said. "Or maybe I aged into it without aging physically."

"Don't tell me that." Sabrina said. "You're Daphne's age. Maybe a little younger, now. You can't be the right age for romance."

"Not romance, specifically." Red blushed. "I'm not ready for that. But I kind of maybe do like someone like as more than a friend... I think..."

Sabrina stopped watching where she was flying to stare at Red. "Really?" She squeaked.

Red nodded mutely, blushing even more.

"Wow." Sabrina said, turning away from Red to save her some embarassment. "I didn't expect that. So, do you want to tell me who it is, or would you rather we dropped the subject, or what?"

"Dropped the subject." Red said quitely. "Please?"

"Of course." Sabrina said. "I get it. Completely."

"Thank you." Red said.

"No problem." Sabrina said. "That's the kind of conversation option I wish someone had given me, so..."

After that deep, insightful, and heartfelt conversation in which Sabrina and Red both felt that they'd gained a deeper understanding and connection to each other, they were silent, both embarassed by their forwardness.

"I see them!" Red said, pointing to a pair of awkwardly running figures, one dragging the other along behind it.

Sabrina swooped down, and, leveling out about ten feet above Daphne's head, paced the two girls. "Do you guys even know where you're headed?"

"No idea whatsoever." Bella called tiredly. "Make her stop!"

"I do so!" Daphne protested, but her heart wasn't in it. "I saw it! And I'm not stopping 'til I meet Pinnocchio!"

"Daph, you're exhausted." Sabrina pointed out. "How about you take a break?"

"I thought you only saw the future when you were looking at what you saw the future of..." Red said doubtfully.

"Well, I can see myself, right?" Daphne asked, but she slowed down.

Bella stopped greatfully, panting.

"Don't stop moving!" Sabrina protested, "You'll cramp up! Keep walking!"

"I'm going to die of exhaustion," Bella said, "and you want me to keep walking?"

"No you won't." Daphne said, squinting at her. "Not today, at least."

"You're in awful shape." Sabrina told Bella. "You should be able to run that far without an issue. We need to toughen you up."

"Do not." Bella said. "I'm in excellent shape. Just 'cause _you're_ in such good shape that you can run halfway across the world without taking a break doesn't mean the rest of us have to be able to."

"But you should be able to run that far." Red said. "What if you're in a battle? You have to be in good shape."

"I'm surprised the Beast hasn't whipped you into shape yet." Daphne said. "I mean, we've been in school for over a year, and he's been training us like heck for most of that."

"She cheats." Red said. "Stops working whenever she has the chance."

"Red!" Bella complained. "You promised you wouldn't tell!"

"I didn't tell the Beast." Red said quietly.

"She was right." Sabrina said sternly. "You need to build up your strength. We're going to be exercising from now on!"

Bella made a face. "Do we have to?"

"Yes." Sabrina said.

"Anyway, back to me meeting Pinnocchio..." Daphne said pointedly.

"_Do_ you know where he is?" Red asked.

"No." Daphne said shamefacedly.

Bella stared at Daphne incredulously. "You mean you dragged me halfway across town and you didn't even know where you were _going_?"

"Maybe..." Daphne said quietly.

"How about we-" Sabrina stepped in to save her sister a bit of embarrassment, then stopped. Red was supposed to be making the decisions. And even if she wasn't, it was _not_ her job to interfere with Daphne and Bella, even if they were two of her favorite people in the world. They had their own assignment.

"How about what?" Daphne asked.

"Never mind." Sabrina said.

"What do you mean, never mind?" Bella asked. "That's out of character for you."

"Assignment." Sabrina said briefly.

"What about it?" Bella asked.

"I know what mine is, and it requires that I not say anything right about now." Sabrina elaborated. "And yours _probably_ has something to do with working together. So I'm going to keep my mouth shut."

Daphne made a face. "I don't like this assignment."

"We don't have to." Sabrina said. "We just have to do it. Now you two work this out on your own."

So Daphne and Bella argued, and Sabrina and Red watched.

"Were you going to suggest going to Gheppetto's toy shop?" Red asked Sabrina.

"Yeah." Sabrina said, watching the two girls, and realizing that she'd spent a much larger portion of her day watching other people argue than usual, and much less time actually arguing.

"I was thinking about saying it." Red said. "But then they started arguing.

"So say something." Sabrina said, not turning away from the two girls. "It's getting kind of late, and everyone else is probably either wondering where we are or they left already."

"And are wondering where we are at home." Red added. "But... I don't want to say anything. What if they think it's a stupid idea? Or what if they won't listen to me?"

"It's not a stupid idea." Sabrina said. "At least, I don't think so. And if they won't listen, you just have to get louder."

"I don't do loud very well." Red said.

"We'll work on that this week." Sabrina promised.

"OK." Red agreed, but she didn't say anything to the other two girls.

"Is this what it's like for all of the rest of you?" Sabrina asked. "Watching me and Puck argue?"

"Pretty much." Red nodded. "Except you're usually louder and you use magic."

"I am sorry." Sabrina said. Then, after a while, she asked, "Are you going to suggest it? 'Cause I'm not."

"I will." Red promised. "I'm just... getting up my courage."

"OK." Sabrina said agreeably. "Just don't take too long."

Red waited another five minutes or so before taking a deep breath and saying in an almost-shout, "I have an idea."

Neither Daphne nor Bella noticed.

"Louder." Sabrina encouraged her. "You have to make more noise than they are."

"OK." Red took an even deeper breath, then said, in the loudest voice Sabrina had ever heard her use, including when she was insane, "Daphne! Bella! I have an idea!"

The two girls turned and stared at Red.

"What was that?" Bella asked.

"I..." Red said tentatively, quiet again, "I have an idea."

"What is it, Red?" Daphne asked.

"What if we go to Gheppetto's toy shop?" Red asked. "He almost lives there, and..."

"I think he does live there." Sabrina said quietly. "Above the store."

"And if Pinocchio's in town, he's probably with Gheppetto, right?" Red asked.

"Good idea." Bella said. "Better than some that _other_ people have suggested."

Sabrina tried and failed to run her hand over her eyes. "Sorry, Red. Don't start that again, guys, please?"

"Fine." Daphne smiled. "I don't care, I get to meet Pinocchio!"

Bella rolled her eyes and marched off, saying, "Let's get this over with, OK?"

Sabrina and Red followed the other two, high-five-ing each other. Once they reached Gheppetto's toy shop, Daphne knocked on the door.

"Who is it?' Gheppetto called warily, opening the door a crack.

"It's Daphne and Sabrina Grimm, Bella Amphibian, and Red Riding Hood." Daphne said. "Can we come in?"

"Of course." Gheppetto said, closing the door.

The four girls heard the sound of a chain lock opening, then the door itself was swung wide.

"Quickly!" Gheppetto said. "Come in!"

"Why all the precautions?" Sabrina asked, stepping through the door just in time for Gheppetto to slam it behind her.

"Some Scarlet Hand members have been coming around asking for Pinocchio recently." Gheppetto explained. "I'm worried about him."

"Does he seem interested?" Bella asked.

"No, no, no," Gheppetto said, "But... well, once the Scarlet Hand wants you, they either get you or they make you wish you'd joined."

Sabrina hissed. "I'm sorry."

"We'll survive." Gheppetto said, smiling slightly. "After all, he found his way back to me, didn't he? Nothing can go wrong now."

Sabrina decided not to say anything. Let him have his happiness.

"Is he here?" Daphne asked, bouncing up and down with excitement. "Can I meet him? Please please please?"

"Of course." Gheppetto smiled. "He's upstairs, I'll go get him. Wait right here."

Gheppetto walked off towards the back of the store, leaving the girls downstairs to wait awkwardly.

"I can't believe I'm actually meeting Pinnocchio!" Daphne gushed. "This is so exciting! What do you think he'll be like?"

"Stuffy, stuck-up, and whiney." Bella said.

Daphne stuck her tongue out at Bella. "How do _you_ know? I bet he's smart, fun, and friendly! That's what he's like in the book!"

"I know 'cause he's in my science class." Bella said. "And that's how he acts."

"Daph, you should know by now that people aren't exactly like they're portrayed in their fairy tales..." Sabrina pointed out.

"Well, I don't believe it." Daphne muttered. "Maybe he just doesn't like school."

The other three girls looked on skeptically.

"What?" Daphne asked. "He could! We all get whiny when we have to do assignments we don't like!"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "He could, I guess..."

"But?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina was saved from answering because Gheppetto came back from upstairs, tailed by a gawky boy, about seven years old, with a big nose and buckteeth. Sabrina vaguely recognized him from around school, but she'd never interacted with him- he could have been a regular human kid, for all she knew.

But Daphne squealed and ran forward to attack the boy with an anaconda-like hug, dragging Bella with her. "Oh, you're just what I knew you'd look like!" She squeaked, releasing the boy to bite down on her palm.

"That's Pinnocchio, then?" Sabrina asked Red.

Red shrugged. "I guess. He isn't in any of my classes..."

Sabrina blinked. "Wait a second. If he's in school, why isn't he handcuffed to anyone? Something's fishy here. I don't think I trust this kid."

Pinnocchio turned, affronted. "Don't trust me? And what is your reasoning behind this deduction, might I ask?"

Everyone but Bella stared.


	68. Homeward Bound

**AN~ Most of this isn't spellchecked 'cause I typed it at work, where I don't have my beautiful auto-spellchecking Google Chrome.**

**And we have another winner! _yahidontlikeyoueither_, you get a small, free, internet-transferrable prize of your choice for being the 876th reviewer! I decided I like this prize thing and am going to do it whenever we get to a number I think is cool. :)**

**Know what's strange? (And maybe I'm getting a bit spoiled) But last chapter I got over thirty reviews, and this chapter I got ten. I think you get more reviews if you update on a Friday than on a Sunday night. Or you get more if you imply that Puck and Sabrina will be together soon than if you don't. Or a cliffhanger ending gets more. I dunno. I'm just speculating. Maybe it's a combination.**

_**PinkAndBlack:**_** Well, the only way to get better is to practice! All the time! I started out crap. I bet you that if you ask any author on the planet, they will tell you that their first stories were horrible. And if they don't, they're lying.**

_**Agd:**_** I have read the Artemis Fowl series, but I think Pinocchio is less likeable. I took interest in your penname because it seemed unusual.**

**_Dontchawishyaknewme334: _Thanks! I'm glad you like it! (I don't care whether it's your first favorite or not, all I care is that you enjoyed it) I'm responding to you now. :) So what was the point of the cheese related things at the end?  
**

* * *

"You... you talk like a college proffessor." Daphne whispered.

"Told you." Bella yawned.

"I apologize for my verbosity," Pinnochio bowed stiffly, "however, I find that it is a necessary evil in order to achieve adult status in many conversations."

"Howzat?" Daphne tilted her head sideways.

"He says he's sorry but if he wants people to treat him like a grown-up he has to talk like that." Sabrina translated, then turned to Pinocchio and asked, "So why don't you just grow up?"

"Alas, I am incapable of aging past the physical manifestation which you see present before your honorable selves." Pinocchio sighed. "For, at the time when the esteemable Blue Fairy granted me the form of a child not made of wood, I was not quite as specific in my wish as I ought have been, and she translated the word 'boy' quite literally, dooming me to the physical age of seven years for the eternity of my existence."

Daphne looked close to tears as she said, "I can barely understand a word you're saying."

"That stinks." Sabrina said. "I can see why you might be a bit... wordy. It's awful when grown-ups treat you like you don't have a brain just 'cause you're short."

"But what is he _saying_?" Daphne asked.

"It's OK, Daphne, I don't know either." Red said sympathetically.

"I see you understand, at least slightly." Pinocchio said to Sabrina, warming up a bit, "but perhaps not quite as much as I do. Of course, that is understandable, as you have but a decade of being spoken to as if you have the mental capacities of a canine, versus my several centuries."

"I'm thirteen, thank you." Sabrina said. "And I may have suffered just as much as you. Just 'cause I don't talk like you do doesn't mean I'm not dealing with the same stuff."

"What's going on?" Daphne wailed.

Bella rolled her eyes but explained, "Pinocchio wasn't specific enough when he wished to be a real boy, so he's stuck as a _boy_ and can't grow up, even though he wants to. So he talks all stuffy. Sabrina sympathized and he got all degrading, so she's ticked."

"Ohh..." Daphne said.

"Perhaps it's simply that your mental faculties aren't quite on par with mine, then." Pinocchio said. "Or that you haven't had as much time to make a study of vocabulary as I have with your... admiral age of thirteen years."

"Oh, so now you're saying I'm stupid?" Sabrina snapped. "Or are you just judging me the same way you hate it when everyone judges you? So smart, right there."

"Pardon me?" Pinocchio asked. "Are you inferring that my behavior is unethical or inappropriate?"

"Sure as heck I am!" Sabrina said, standing straighter and advancing slightly. "I see how it is. You're so used to people falling in awe at your 'awe-inspiring verbiage' that you've gotten cocky! You think you're the smartest guy on the planet and you're being a hypocrite! You're all talk and no action, and I hate people like you. Maybe you should take a step back and see who should really be looking down on who."

"I really wish I understood both sides of this." Daphne whispered to Red. "I think it'd be much funnier. I love it when Sabrina tells people off. It's almost as funny as when she gets told off."

"Am I going to have to translate everything?" Bella sighed.

"Yeah." Daphne nodded. "'Cause Sabrina's busy right now."

"Well, Pinocchio suggested that Sabrina wasn't as smart as he was, or maybe just too young to have a big vocabulary, which is funny 'cause she understood every word of what he said, and even I'm not quite sure on some of them, and she may not talk the talk, but she understands it, and she called him out on it and he's all offended now." Bella said. "You sister's a smart cookie, you know that?"

"She read the whole dictionary when we were in the orphanage 'cause she wanted to know the definition for something in the O's." Daphne said. "And I knew that already."

"She read the whole dictionary?" Bella asked, incredulous.

"There wasn't much to do in the orphanage." Daphne explained.

"Wow." Bella said, impressed.

Pinocchio, who had been staring at Sabrina, affronted, sighed. "I apologize. Your words ring of truth. I shall attempt to rectify my behavior."

"That's better." Sabrina said, satisfied. "You know it's possible to be smart without shoving it in everyone's face."

"I never thought I'd meet someone who wanted to be a grown-up more than Sabrina." Red said, watching Pinocchio with an impressed look.

"I don't think I like him as much as I thought I would." Daphne said sadly.

"I told you." Bella sing-songed.

"What exactly was it that you wanted?" Ghepetto asked, looking sad.

Sabrina looked at the old man a little sadly. Granny had said that Pinocchio was Ghepetto's life, and, like every dad, he wanted his kid to be liked, and here they were getting angry at him at the first meeting. She'd have to do something, for Ghepetto's sake, if not for his son's.

"I wanted to invite Pinocchio to our study group." Sabrina improvised. "We meet most days after school, and I know you probably don't need to study, but we always need tutors."

The three other girls stared at Sabrina, then did their best to mask their shock.

"Speaking of which, how come you're not set up for the assignment?" Bella asked. "From gym?"

"I wasn't in school today." Pinocchio explained. "I had to help my father with the store today, we just recieved a shipment from outside town."

"I didn't realize business was still very good." Red said bemusedly.

"People always want toys." Ghepetto said. "And with over two hundred eternal children, well..."

"So question, testing a theory:" Sabrina said. "Can you see my handcuffs?"

"Handcuffs?" Ghepetto asked.

"Ah." Pinocchio said. "That would explain quite a bit. I assume the amphibiate and the younger Grimm are attached at the wrist? And that the assignment you mentioned has much to do with aforementioned handcuffs?"

"Roundabout." Sabrina agreed.

"See, the problem is that he's smart enough that we can't really call him out on how cocky he is." Bella whispered to Daphne.

"Do you want to come to the study group?" Red asked, getting Pinocchio back on task.

The boy thought about it for a moment. "I suppose, if it is true that your facility could use assistance in the intstructory department."

"Good for you." Ghepetto smiled. "It'll be good for you, to go out and make friends."

"Please, father." Pinocchio said. "Those... infantile everafters at the school aren't anywhere near my educational demographic. We have nothing in common on which to base a friendship. But I shall attempt, for the good of all involved."

"Great!" Sabrina smiled fakely. "Well, we meet after school in the library most days, Pinocchio. See you there!"

"We have to go now." Red said uncertainly. "It was... nice meeting you, Pinocchio. Bye, Mr. Ghepetto."

"Bye!" Daphne called, not quite as excited as she'd normally be.

"See you around." Bella said, waving and following Daphne out.

Sabrina and Red waved and joined the other two outside, then began walking back through the almost-dark of the late fall evening towards the school.

Once they were far enough away that they didn't have to worry about being overheard, Bella exploded, "Inviting him to study group! What were you _thinking_, Sabrina? He's such a prig!"

"Prig?" Sabrina asked. "What are we, British?"

"That's not the point!" Bella snapped. "You invited that little stuck-up brat to our safe harbor! That's the only place I get to see my friends outside of school, and half the time we're _in_ the school anyway, and it's the only time I get to have much fun, and you brought that jerk in! How could you?"

"Maybe he's just lonely." Red suggested. "Lots of people act mean when they're lonely. They think if they pretend they're better than people, they won't know they care. It's a protective measure."

"You're good at psychoanalysis." Bella said, impressed.

"So you think if we're nice, he won't be so mean?" Daphne asked, looking around at the dark, empty streets aprehensively. "And maybe he'll talk with words I can understand?"

"I dunno, Daph." Sabrina said, putting a hand over her sister's shoulder. "Maybe. I was honestly just thinking about Ghepetto. Granny told me about him, and I feel bad for him, you know? I couldn't bear to let him see just how much everyone else thinks his son's a jerk."

"Ohh..." Daphne said. "That makes sense. So you weren't thinking about Pinocchio at all?"

Sabrina didn't answer, and on top of that, she stopped walking, forcing Red, too, to halt.

"Sabrina?" Daphne asked, turning back.

"Sh." Sabrina held up a hand, her head turned to one side, balancing on her toes.

"Wassup?" Bella asked, looking where Sabrina was faced.

"I thought I heard something." Sabrina said quietly. "Red, be prepared to take off, OK?"

Red slipped her hand into Sabrina's. "You don't want me to plan if we have an emergency, right?"

"Right." Sabrina said. "But if you want to plan now, it'd be a good idea."

"Relax, guys." Bella said. "You're just on edge because it's dark and creepy. It was probably just someone's TV."

"Do you see any lights around here?" Sabrina asked. "We're in the business district. So I think we should make a plan anyway. And Red needs to make that plan. And keep your voice down!"

"Fine." Bella rolled her eyes. "Plan, then. Red?"

Red looked uncertainly at the other three girls, but when both Sabrina and Daphne nodded encouragingly, she said, "Well, umm... Sabrina can fly, and I'm with Sabrina, but if you two are like you are, then you're not going to be able to get away if something comes after us. So I think Daphne should shapeshift into something small if there's trouble, and Bella should hold Sabrina's hand, too, so that we can all fly away and still keep doing our project. Does that sound good?"

"It sounds great." Daphne said. "But what do I shift into? And how do I keep from falling out of the handcuffs?"

"Let's keep walking." Sabrina urged. "We're more of a target if we stay still. Or run. But staying still makes it easy for people to aim."

The girls resumed walking, and Bella said, "I could put you in my sweatshirt pocket, Daph. That way you'd be able to hold on tight. Or we could _both _turn into frogs and go in Sabrina's sweatshirt pocket. That's huge."

"Smart." Sabrina said absently, looking around. "Maybe we should do that now. Like, _now_ now."

Bella rolled her eyes again, but complied, along with Daphne. Sabrina stuck the duo in her pocket, noticing that the cuffs changed size when the girls did.

"That's convenient." Red noted.

"It is." Sabrina agreed, walking a little faster, her free hand on her sword, which was stuck into one of the black leather belts she'd found in the attic ages ago- she wore two, along with her sword, at all times now, much to her father's chagrin- running her finger absently along the paint of the hilt.

Red jumped back as Sabrina's sword morphed into fight-mode. "I wasn't expecting that. Should... should I get mine out, too?"

"How good are you with it?" Sabrina asked, eyeing Red's small frame dubiously.

"Okay, I guess." Red said. "Not awful."

"Get it out." Sabrina said. "I'm working with my left hand, so I'll be working too hard to keep myself safe to concentrate on you, too."

"Okay." Red nodded, pulling out her sword.

Sabrina stopped again, putting a finger to her lips at Red's questioning look. She spun around suspiciously, but after a minute of silence, said, "I could have sworn I heard footsteps."

Red shrugged and converted her sword to a rather stout, short thing with a small, plain ruby in the hilt. "Maybe you did."

The two kept walking, with frequent 'listening stops' insisted on by an increasingly antsy Sabrina.

"I never hear anything." Red said, sounding worried. "And I listen really well."

"They could be mirroring our steps." Sabrina said. "Walking as we walk, stopping every time we do. It's a shadowing trick, lots of people do it. I've done it a couple of times. It's hard, and takes lots of practice, but it can be done."

"So it would just sound like an echo?" Red asked.

"Exactly." Sabrina said. "It's easier the more people there are. If I'm right, it would explain why I hear it more now that Daphne and Bella aren't walking."

About five halts later, Bella sighed, exasperated. It was difficult for her to talk when she was fully frog-shaped, but she managed it.

"Honestly, Sabrina, you're being ridiculous." She said.

"Think what you want." Sabrina said, walking forward again, but on her toes, poised to run.

"You've been doing this for the whole walk home, and nothing's happened yet." Bella pointed out. "I'm tired of sitting in your pocket where I can't see, and I'm tired of being a frog. Can we just get back to normal?"

"The point of tailing someone is that you don't show yourself to anyone." Sabrina pointed out. "You can come out if you brought your sword."

"Who brings their sword to school?" Bella asked. "Especially when school is a declared neutral zone? I'm trying to pretend to be normal, at least sometimes! I thought you wanted that, too!"

"I do." Sabrina said, walking faster. It was full dark, and she still had a while to walk before she could justify the extra weight of Red on a flight home. "But I'm being practical. I can't be normal and safe at the same time. And if I'm not safe, I'll never be normal 'cause I'll be dead."

"Nothing is going to happen." Bella said, exasperated. "We're perfectly-"

"I heard something." Red said suddenly.

Sabrina spun, grabbing Red's hand. "Prepare for takeoff." She whispered, looking around.

"This is so stupid!" Bella cried. "There's nobody there! Do you see anyone? No! Because there isn't anyone!"

"Bella, shut up." Sabrina said, backing up.

"No!" Bella snapped. "You're being paranoid and stupid, Sabrina! Stop it, now! I want-"

That was when they struck.


	69. The Five Chinese Brothers

**AN~ **

_**AlchoholicGoldfish:**_** You're correct, it was OOC. It was also plot device because I needed to get him there. And in the books, Sabrina takes to Pinocchio remarkably quickly, if you remember? Three people suggested that it be Puck and Peter on the first day! Weird, 'cause that never entered my mind...**

_**Nettle:**_** Hi! You're new! Or at least new to the reviewer's circle. Welcome! I shall attempt to update quickly.**

**_Yellow.r0se: _Thanks for the review! Was it fast enough for you?**

_**PinkAndBlack:**_** Sorry for the cliffie. Guess what? If you get an account, the amount of story you get per chapter will be longer, on average. 'Cause I go for a word count of at least 3,000 words/chapter, and once I get close to that (counting the AN), I start to wrap it up.**

_**Bookloverforever:**_** Ding ding ding! You are a winner, because you were review number 900! What do you want as your prize? I'll do anything free, not to time consuming, and transferrable over the internet. Glad you liked the story! It's nice when someone agrees with my Puckabrina tactics. :) Why'd you capslock it, though?**

_**disappointed/previously disappointed:**_** Go on my profile, I have links for the manga there. And what do you mean, make it longer as in the length of a book? How would YOU make it longer? No offense, but you don't even have an account, and it's pretty friggin' long already, and only about halfway finished. Feel free to explain how you would make it longer, but I don't understand what you're asking.**

* * *

Sabrina jumped as high as she could, flapping her wings in the closest thing to a vertical takeoff she'd ever made. She flapped her wings hard, lifting high off the ground, out of the reach of the shadowy figure who had attacked.

"I hate to say I told you so, Bella, but..." Sabrina said, looking down.

"All right, all right, you were right." Bella snapped. "Just get us home, OK? And fast. Before they get someone else who can fly out here."

"Not sure I can do that." Sabrina said. "Super-strength is not one of my abilities."

"Are you calling Red fat?" Bella teased.

"I don't care what she calls me as long as she gets us out of here." Red said, pointing down with a trembling finger.

Sabrina looked down at the five figures below her, all indistinguishable. "Who _are_ they, I wonder?"

"Does it really matter?" Bella asked. "Worry about it later!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes, flying off. "Gosh, Red, for someone so tiny, you're heavy!" She moaned, looking down at the attackers. "Um... they're following us."

"I don't mean to weigh a lot." Red said. "At least they aren't doing anything yet."

"Why aren't they, though?" Sabrina asked. "They have to know I can fly."

"Maybe... maybe they're waiting." Red said worriedly. "For when you have to land."

"Oh, I hope not..." Sabrina said worriedly. "'Cause I don't think I can fly all the way back to the house."

They progressed in silence for a minute before Red said, "Um, Sabrina?"

"What?" Sabrina asked.

Red pointed. "One of them is growing. Fast."

Sabrina looked down, starting back when she saw what Red was pointing at. "Dangit!" She snapped. "Why? Why can we never get attacked by anyone who _can't_ hang out in the sky?"

She flew higher and higher, but the person- another Asian man- kept growing, faster and faster.

"What is this?" Sabrina asked. "I think knowing this fairy tale would have been helpful!"

"Daphne knows it." Red said. "I wasn't sure before, and I don't remember exactly, but it's called the five Chinese brothers."

"So what happens in it?" Sabrina asked impatiently, dodging.

"I told you, I don't really remember, but there's five brothers, and they're identical. One of them accidentally kills someone with his power, so he has to be put to death, but he goes home to see his mom, and his brother who can't die from the punishment trades with him, and that happens a whole bunch of times until they give up and all go home forever."

"Do you remember what they could do?" Sabrina asked, dodging again.

"Well, one of them could stretch his legs, which kept him from drowning. I think the first one could... swallow the sea." Red said uncertainly. "But I'm not sure about the rest. Oh, I _wish_ Daphne could talk in Frog shape!"

"Any idea at all, Red!" Sabrina said, pulling out her sword and brandishing it at the man in front of her, who grinned malicilously.

"Ummm... one of them can... hold his breath forever... I think..." Red said, pulling out her own sword.

"And the other two?" Sabrina asked, parrying awkwardly with her left hand. The man in front of her had a huge curved scimitar, but he didn't seem to be a natural swordsman, which put them almost level, because he still had the advantage of his dominant hand.

"I don't remember!" Red said worriedly. "Something about fire, and... I don't know... his neck or something..."

"So why are they all together?" Sabrina asked. "And why did they trade off? I mean, what if they'd switched the way they were going to execute him at the last minute?"

"I know that one." Bella said. "Their life forces are tied together. If one dies, they all die. We studied people like that in Biology."

"So if I take one of them out, they're all down for the count?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Bella said. "In theory."

"Red, take over with the swordplay!" Sabrina snapped. "I'm going to start working on the others!"

"O-OK..." Red said in a quavering voice.

Sabrina flew up another three feet, turning a bit so that Red could fight with the long-legged man, and began forming a fireball, aiming at one of the men below her. But now they were circling, trading places, making it very difficult for her to track them when they were so far below her. She threw the fireball at one of them, aiming carefully.

"Ow!" Red cried, causing Sabrina to turn.

Red was bleeding from a cut on her arm. Sabrina tried to decide who to focus on, Red, or the men below, none of whom had been hit with a fireball yet.

"You OK?" Sabrina asked, dogdging the swinging sword of the man she had internally dubbing stilts.

"Yeah, it's just a scratch." Red assured her. "But it's really hard to fight when you're dangling by one arm a hundred feet off the ground."

"Here, I'll..." instead of finishing her sentence, Sabrina removed Red's gravity to explain her plan. "Better?"

Red nodded. "Kind of. But this is going to take some getting used to, too."

"We don't have _time_ for you to get used to it!" Bella shrieked.

Sabrina shook her head and turned back to the four men milling below her, creating another fireball. She aimed carefully again, then threw it down, hitting one of the men square on the head.

Nothing happened.

"Dangit!" Sabrina cried, dodging the sword that was coming for her face. "Red, when you said fire, what did you mean exactly?"

"I dunno!" Red said, blocking the sword awkwardly.

"Could it maybe have been that he _doesn't burn_?" Sabrina snapped. "'Cause I just threw a fireball at him and nothing happened!"

"Maybe..." Red said in a very small voice.

"Auuugh!" Sabrina wailed angrily. "Anything _else_ important I should know?"

"I told you, I don't remember!" Red said, and, for once, she sounded angry.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and turned back to the men below her, creating another fireball in one hand and a mass of water in the other.

"Why don't you hit the guy in front of us?" Bella croaked. "He's not fireproof!"

"I'll catch us on fire, too!" Sabrina snapped, aiming carefully. "I can't hit him with anything without it bouncing back at us!"

She threw her projectiles down, but the fireball missed completely and the mass of water was swallowed by another of the men.

"Ah, crud." Sabrina muttered.

Three seconds later, the water was spewed back up at them at twice its original speed. Sabrina managed to dodge it for the most part, but Red still got very wet, and Sabrina was splattered.

"Ew!" Bella cried. "He just spit on you!"

"Says the girl who sticks to the ceiling with sticky stuff she lets out of her skin." Sabrina pointed out. "Sorry, Red."

"S'OK." Red said, her teeth chattering slightly, raising her sword again.

"You good?" Sabrina asked, pulling her sword out again just in time to block Stilts' next blow.

Red nodded, sliding her sword in next to Sabrina's. "Get back to fighting the ones down there."

"Right." Sabrina smiled grimly and turned back to the men on the ground, still holding her sword, in her right hand this time, leaving her left unhampered to strike at the men below.

This time she focused on one she was sure she hadn't touched before, encasing him in an impenetrable barrier, hoping to suffocate him until he passed out- not 'til death, she wasn't that cruel, but enough that they would all be put of commission. But just in case, she turned to the next and threw another fireball down at him.

She stared, shocked and angry. What were the chances of her throwing the fireball at the same man three times in a row?

"Whichever one I do something to, that one's always the one that it doesn't effect!" Sabrina shouted. "Something's up here. That's not natural."

Red didn't respond, maybe because she was panting too hard to say anything, but Bella spoke up.

"What if they're switching?" She asked. "What if they're not just connected by life force, what if they can change position, too? They could see what you're throwing and trade places. That makes a lot more sense than the jailer letting them home every day!"

"Crap crap crap crap!" Sabrina wailed. "And I can't lock them all in a bubble and still keep Red floating, not if I want to stay in the air for very long."

"What about taking over?" Bella asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "I haven't got a big energy store yet. I'm working on it, but I have _no_ magical stamina. I'm getting tired already. Sorry, guys."

"So... that's it, then?" Bella asked. "We're dead? You're giving up?"

"Of course I'm not giving up!" Sabrina snapped. "But yeah, we're dead, unless someone comes up with a better solution."

Red's sword suddenly fell, landing directly on one of the other men. There was a clang of metal on metal, then the man bent down to pick up the sword that had fallen on his neck.

"Oops." Red muttered.

But when the man with the iron neck picked up the sword, it suddenly stopped shining in the light from the small fires Sabina had started and the man shouted.

"Sabrina?" Bella asked. "Can you put out those fires?"

"Not right now." Sabrina said tightly, shifting so that she was in front of Stilts. "Kind of in the middle of something."

Sabrina fought the man for several minutes, getting increasingly exhausted, before Red came up with the obvious solution.

"Stop time!" She shouted.

"If I do that when I'm like this, I'll probably pass out." Sabrina snapped. "It's too risky. I might not be able to hold it, and you guys could end up stranded in the middle of them all!"

"Do it!" Red snapped. "It's the only way, and if you wait much longer, we'll definitely be in trouble, no matter what you do!"

"We're not helpless, Sabrina." Bella reminded her. "It's OK."

Sabrina sighed, nodded, and took a deep breath.

Everything stopped.

And then Sabrina fell, taking the other girls with her.

They landed in a heap, not two inches from one of the men, gaining some bruises but not hurt badly.

"Sabrina?" Red asked, shaking the blonde worriedly.

Sabrina groaned, not opening her eyes. "Sh." She said after a while. "I have to concentrate to hold this. Don't distract me."

She sat up, Indian style, pulled Daphne and Bella out of her sweatshirt pocket, and, resting her elbows on her knees, began to rub her temples with a fierce expression on her face. Bella and Daphne shifted back to their natural forms and watched her worriedly for a few minutes.

"Now what do we do?" Daphne asked, looking at Bella.

"What do you mean, what do we do?" Bella asked. "I'm not in charge here!"

"Well, you're the oldest!" Daphne snapped. "And you always say my plans are stupid! I bet even if I had the best idea on the planet, you'd shoot it down like that!" She tried to snap her fingers and failed.

"Nice." Bella rolled her eyes. "_Do_ you have a great plan, then, oh wise one?"

"Guys!" Sabrina snapped.

"Sorry." Daphne said quietly. "We have to get out of here while she can still hold time still. But we can't carry Sabrina, she's too heavy, and I think if she walks, she'll lose her concentration."

"So what if we..." Red started.

"If we what?" Daphne asked, when Red trailed off into nothingness.

"Never mind." Red said, shivering a little and trying to pull her arm attached to Sabrina's closer to her body.

"Red, we've got no ideas." Bella pointed out. "We're all exhausted and temperamental and going to die if you don't speak up, we might die. What's your idea?"

"Well, you're concentrating of getting us away before they move again, right?" Red asked. "What if we get out of here before they even _show up_?"

"How do you mean?" Bella asked.

But Daphne's eyes lit up, and she turned to her sister, asking, "Do you think you've got enough juice left to take us back in time? Just an hour or two?"

Sabrina nodded wearily, and the girls were privileged to see the whole scene play backwards in front of them, themselves rising into the air, followed by Red's sword and several fireballs, a jet of water first shooting from Red's clothes to one of the men's mouths and back to Sabrina's hand, and then the girls landed back on the ground. The four men jumped backwards into the shadows, the girls walked out of sight, and then the sky began to grow lighter and lighter, until school appeared to have just gotten out recently.

"Stop!" Daphne shouted.

Sabrina did, and everything started to move again as she fell over with a thud.

"I think she's out for good this time." Red said, poking Sabrina's arm.

"We'll have to go get someone." Daphne said, looking at Bella. "Sorry, Red, but you have to stay here, OK? Maybe steal Sabrina's sword, since you lost yours."

Daphne and Bella stood up and ran off, leaving Red alone in the November sunlight with the comatose form of Sabrina.

"I feel bad, leaving her helpless like that." Daphne said worriedly.

"She'll be OK." Bella said breezily. "She's got a sword, it's daylight, and we'll be back soon."

Their run slowed to a walk after about fifteen minutes because both girls were exhausted, and it was over half an hour before they reached the school, where the crowd looked exactly as it had before they'd left earlier that day. In fact, Sabrina and Red were just taking to the sky- to search for Bella and Daphne, presumably. The two girls ducked, waiting for the Sabrina and Red of earlier that afternoon to fly out of sight before hurrying over to where Puck and Peter were arguing again. It was only when they got there that Daphne realized they'd made the entire trip with no fights.

"Wassup, Marshmallow?" Puck asked, turning away from his current shouting match when Daphne yanked on his ears. "Weren't you going to find Pinocchio?"

"We did." Daphne said. "And Sabrina and Red followed us, but-"

"Wait, if you left, how are you back already?" Peter asked. "Was he, like, right here?"

"Shut up and stop interrupting." Puck snapped at Peter.

"Thank you." Bella said. "We're back 'cause we had to rewind time."

"Wait, so where's Sabrina?" Puck asked, suddenly alert.

"Now look who's interrupting, loverboy." Peter sneered.

"Shut up." Puck blushed.

"I want to know what happened later, but that's not important right now." Daphne said. "We got attacked 'cause we didn't get out 'til nighttime, and we had to fight them off, and Red got hurt and Sabrina passed out and they're stuck on a back street near the edge of town, and you need to go get them! Now!"

Puck shot into the air, and, ignoring Peter's protests, said, "Lead the way, Marshmallow."


	70. Awake & Alive

**AN~ Guess what? I started a community! Y'all should go subscribe! ^.^ (shameless plug)**

_**Yellow.r0se**_** & **_****__**Purpleflower23**_:** Thanks for the review!**

_**Kgirl:**_** Thanks for the review! I, however, am not going to review soon, because this is my story. I assume you meant update? :)**

_**Bookloverforever:**_** All right, dramatic it is... Or kind of... never mind, it isn't, really...**

_**Alcoholic Goldfish:**_** Yes, Sabrina has too many powers. I know. I know. I started this when I was young and foolish, she's getting rid of most of them eventually. Did you like the fight scene? They're always really hard for me to write.**

**_Ninee:_ Long legs, actually. Iron neck.**

* * *

When they got to Red and Sabrina, nothing had changed in the scene. Red still sat there, holding Sabrina's sword awkwardly because it was much too big for her, and Sabrina was still lying motionless on the ground.

"Why did you have to drag me out here like that?" Peter whined. "They're just fine! See?"

Red looked up, still shivering, with an expression of relief. "Oh, th-thank goodness!" She said. "I was so scared someone was going to show up!"

"Someone _did_ show up, squirt." Puck pointed out, landing next to her. "It was just us."

"I meant someone _bad_." Red giggled. "Are you going to carry Sabrina home?"

"Nope, kiddo, I'm going to carry _you_ home." Puck said cheerfully. "Peter here is going to carry Sabrina."

"I'm what?" Peter asked. "I don't think so."

"Tough luck." Puck said. "'Cause you're doing it."

Peter rolled his eyes, but Picked the sleeping blonde up. "Mind you, I'm doing this for her, not you." Peter pointed out. "'Cause she's cool."

"I don't care why you do it, as long as we get these two home." Puck said, grabbing Red's hands. "Up we go, mini."

"Can you walk... fly... us back?" Bella asked. "Just in case? 'Cause it's been a weird day, and I want to make sure I get back to the house safe."

Puck sighed. "More heroic stuff? You guys are really killing my reputation."

"Your reputation is killing itself." Peter said. "It died as soon as you started to grow up."

"Thanks, guys." Daphne smiled. "I appreciate it, too."

"No!" Puck snapped. "I'm going back to being evil as soon as this war is over, don't get used to this! Don't appreciate it!"

"Sure." Bella rolled her eyes. "You're about as evil as Granny's bunny slippers."

"Hey, those things are creepy!" Daphne protested. "Granny Relda wears them when she's got her face mask and her curlers and her battle axe!"

"And the mumu." Red added.

"That's right, don't forget the evil mumu." Puck nodded. "Very scary. See? Being as evil as the Old Lady's bunny slippers is a compliment."

"Sure..." Peter said. "So it'd be OK if I went around telling people you're as evil as slippers?"

"Sure." Puck said. "As long as you remind everyone how you used to wear tights at the same time."

Bella stared at Puck for a second. "That... that was a Sabrina comment."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Puck asked warily.

"Depends what you want it to be." Bella shrugged.

"Then I'm insulted that you'd compare me to that." Puck said, glancing at the sleeping Sabrina.

"Suit yourself." Bella shrugged. "'S just weird that you're starting to pick up her mannerisms."

"Her whats?" Daphne asked.

"Her ways of doing things." Bella explained. "Things that are specific to her. Like you biting your hand when you're excited is a mannerism."

"Oh." Daphne nodded knowledgeably. "I get it now."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Daphne, why don't you just carry a dictionary around with you?"

"I did that once." Daphne said. "But then I fell in a canal and it was in my pocket, so it got ruined."

"A canal?" Bella asked. "Where exactly is there a canal around here?"

"There isn't." Daphne said. "It was in Venice."

"_Venice_?" Peter spluttered. "When did you go to Venice?"

"Like a year and a half ago, wasn't it?" Daphne asked Puck. "When we were looking for Goldi?"

"You went to Venice, too?" Peter asked Puck.

Puck shook his head. "No, but I watched them go. Weren't you wearing Sabrina's one and only dress when that happened?" He asked Daphne.

She nodded. "She was kind of ticked."

"I never understood that." Puck said. "She hates dresses."

"I bet it was more that Daphne stole her clothes and decided she didn't need her to define words anymore." Bella said wisely.

"Well, she was being a jerk about it!" Daphne snapped. "I was just trying to be grown-up! She should have been honored that I looked up to her that much!"

"Emphasis on the past tense there?" Red asked.

"I don't want to be her anymore." Daphne said. "Sabrina's getting better, but she still has issues. I love her, but I'm my own person."

"I dunno, I'd love to be able to say I was as strong as Sabrina." Bella said. "Doing what she did when she was ten... wow. She's a brave person."

"Right, whatever, and... we're back at school." Puck said. "See you two at home. Later!"

He flew off, dragging Peter behind him, and Red waved at the two girls hurriedly, before they were out of sight.

"What's up with him?" Daphne asked the air in general.

Wendell and Mustardseed appeared out of the crowd behind the two girls, and Wendell said, "That probably has something to do with what happened to him and Sabrina right after you two left."

"What happened?" Bella asked, slipping her hand into Wendell's.

"I don't believe he would appreciate it if we shared." Mustardseed said tactfully.

"Aw, come on." Wendell protested. "They're going to find out anyway."

Mustardseed sighed. "I do believe it would be in all our best interests if we didn't say anything."

"All right, now you _have_ to tell us." Daphne said. "I'm too curious to let it drop."

"Now see what you've done?" Mustardseed asked. "You need to learn some diplomatic skills, my friend."

"Does that mean you're going to tell us what's up?" Bella asked.

"Ah... no." Mustardseed said.

"Please, Wendell?" Bella asked, turning to her boyfriend and looking pitifully at him.

Wendell looked from Mustardseed to Bella, then said in a rush, "Sabrina and Red were going to go after you, but Sabrina forgot to let go of Puck and Peter's handcuffs, so she pulled them and they pulled back and they won and she and Red fell on them and she and Puck accidentally kissed."

"Why?" Mustardseed asked the sky. "Why am I surrounded by people who can't keep secrets?"

"For real?" Daphne asked. "So how come Sabrina didn't say anything and Puck's in a bad mood? Kissing is a good thing, right? And we all know they like each other."

"He faked that he didn't like it." Wendell said.

"And Sabrina faked that she hated it just as much because of that." Bella nodded. "Of course she did."

"Why are they both so obsessed with rescuing face?" Daphne moaned.

"I believe the expression is saving face, actually." Mustardseed corrected.

"Whatever." Daphne said. "How come they have to do it all the time?"

"It's a guy thing, Daphne, you wouldn't understand." Wendell said.

"Sabrina's not a guy." Bella pointed out.

"Nor is she the most feminine of girls, though." Mustardseed reminded her.

"True." Bella said. "So, now that we know what's up and are in agreement that those two are pathetic, are we having study group today?"

"Well, as four of our crucial members are missing, I don't believe it would be particularly wise." Mustardseed said. "In fact, I do believe several other pairs have already headed home."

"So we should go find my Mom and Dad." Daphne said.

"Goodbye, then." Mustardseed said, nodding at the two girls. "I believe they're over closer to the south end of the parking lot."

"The what now?" Bella asked, giving Wendell a one-armed hug, which he returned.

Releasing his girlfriend, Wendell pointed, saying, "That way."

"Thank you." Bella said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, sweetie."

"See you." Wendell said as the girls walked off.

When the two reached the adult Grimms, Daphne was surprised to see that they were arguing as much as the kids.

"I didn't know Granny ever argued with anybody." Daphne whispered watching her grandmother snap at Rapunzel.

"I wonder who my parents are hooked up with." Bella said musingly.

"You haven't mentioned them in forever." Daphne said. "Do you miss them?"

"I dunno." Bella said. "For over ten years, I assumed they'd abandoned me. And then when they did find me, well, they were in the Scarlet Hand. I never really knew them 'cause they were so focused on their cause, and I just wanted to get away from that."

"So you don't miss them at all?" Daphne asked.

"Well, I miss the _idea_ of them." Bella said. "Of being the only child of two loving parents, of presents at Christmas and birthdays, two people just for me. But I don't really miss them. I mean, they _sold_ me to Rumplestiltskin. I miss what they could have been, not who they actually are."

"That's sad." Daphne said. "Not having a family. I think it's worse than what Sabrina and I went through. At least we had the memories of our parents, and the hope of seeing them again. I always knew they loved me."

"Sabrina didn't." Bella said. "She thought they'd abandoned you."

"How do you know?" Daphne asked.

"She told me." Bella responded simply. "It sounded awful to me. A year and a half thinking no one loved you. Rumplestiltskin at least told us he cared about us."

"I loved her." Daphne said.

"I know, but a six year old can't really help that much when you're beset on all sides." Bella said.

"I guess..." Daphne said doubtfully.

"We should get going." Bella said.

Daphne nodded, and. turning to the adults, shouted, "Mom, Goldi, Dad, Uncle Jake, Granny, Rapunzel, Briar, Snow! _Stop arguing_! It's time to go home!"

Miraculously, the adults heard her and shut up.

"Part of the problem is that Briar and I don't know where we're going." Snow said. "I need to get back to the fort, but Briar insists that Red needs her."

"I promised to read her the last chapter of that story tonight." Briar said. "We've been reading it for the last few weeks, and we're almost done."

"Maybe..." Daphne said tentatively. "Maybe you should go to the fort today and finish it tomorrow. 'Cause Puck and Peter are going to be at our house tonight and so is Rapunzel, and Goldi, and that's a lot of people."

Briar sighed, defeated. "Fine. But tomorrow we're going to my house."

"That's fine." Snow said. "But I need to be able to set up a replacement _today_ for the rest of the week. _Thank_ you, Daphne."

"So can we go home yet?" Daphne asked.

"Not quite." Henry said. "Where are your sister, Red, and the fairy boy?"

"They flew home already." Bella said quickly. "Didn't want to wait for us."

"Why didn't they take you with them?" Veronica asked.

"We didn't want to listen to Puck and Peter argue the whole way home." Daphne improvised, carefully avoiding the subject of their escapade. She didn't want to be grounded _again_.

"All right, then." Granny said. "Now if I could convince Rapunzel that it's in everyone's best interest for us to take the Jalopy home..."

"I am _not_ getting in that thing." Rapunzel said, horrified.

"Well, someone needs to ride in it, because we don't all fit in the minivan." Granny pointed out. "And none of the children like my car."

"You don't even have your licence!" Rapunzel complained. "You're not allowed to drive!"

"Actually, mom, now that the other kids aren't here, Henry and I can just take my car, and you two can go in the van." Jake said.

"Well, then, that settles it." Veronica said. "Let's go."

"But, Veronica, having six people in one car and two in another is so unbalanced!" Goldi protested. "We should have an equal number in each car!"

"Fine, we'll go in the wreck." Bella sighed. "Can we just go _home_?"

"That works." Goldi said, smiling slightly.

Everyone climbed into their assigned cars and settled down for a long, loud ride home. When they finally reached the house, Daphne and Bella ran inside to their best friends worriedly, confusing the adults.

"You'd think someone had gotten hurt or something." Jake said, mystefied.

Puck and Peter were upstairs, too, playing cards with Red. Sabrina was still down for the count.

"Took you long enough." Puck said, not looking up. "Marshmallow, know a way to wake up your sister?"

"Nope." Daphne said. "Maybe we should just think up an excuse for why she's asleep."

"Sure." Peter agreed. "Like what?"

"She accidentally knocked over a sleeping potion?" Red asked.

"Sure." Bella said. "Because... because you were using the open space in Mirror to train, but-"

"But Puck and Peter came in looking for something and they grabbed a sleeping potion by accident, and Sabrina knocked into one of them and it spilled on her!" Daphne finished excitedly.

At that moment, Sabrina said, "I did _what_?"

"You... well, it doesn't matter, now." Peter said. "It was your excuse for being asleep."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "Well, thanks, I guess. Can I join next hand?" She asked, referring to the game of cards.

"Me too." Bella asked.

"And me?" Daphne requested. "What are you playing, anyway? Go fish?"

"Heck no." Puck shuddered. "That game's for babies. We're playing Blackjack."

"Playing what now?" Daphne asked.

"The point is to not get over twenty-one points." Sabrina said, and began explaining the rules to her younger sister.

They managed to play two and a half more rounds before Puck and Peter lost it again, and Sabrina kicked them out of her room.

"Honestly, they're such idiots about each other!" Sabrina snapped. "It's like they can't see past the ends of their noses!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Bella asked.

"I... don't know." Sabrina said. "It made sense in my head, OK? Leave me alone, I've had a very difficult day."

"So..." Bella said, scooching forward a bit.

"So what?" Sabrina asked warily.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, actually." Sabrina said. "I think we should start you and me both on a program to build up our stamina. You physically and me magically. 'Cause that was pretty pathetic of me earlier."

"Like you said, it was a rough day." Red consoled her. "It's not like you were fresh."

"I'm not going to be fresh in battle, either." Sabrina said. "So starting tomorrow, we're working on this, OK, Bella?"

Bella rolled her eyes, tempted to smack herself. "No, that's not what I was talking about, I meant..."

"Meant what?" Sabrina asked. "'Cause other than that and the loads of homework (including this assignment) that I got today, I have no idea what there is to talk about."

Bella sighed and snapped, "What happened with you and Puck, of course!"

"Nothing hap-" Sabrina stopped, looking suspiciously at Bella and Daphne's faces. "Wendell told you, didn't he?"

Daphne nodded.

"That little-" Sabrina stopped herself. "I'll kill him."

"He's not the only one who saw." Bella said. "You were in the middle of a crowd. I bet a bunch of people noticed."

"So do you want to talk about it?" Bella asked. "Vent a bit?"

"No, I don't." Sabrina said, standing, a little wobbly. "Come on, Red.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked as Red stood, too, and the girls headed for the door.

"To get some forgetful dust!" Sabrina called back.


	71. More Than Meets The Eye

**AN~ Because a lot of you thought Bella was just being stupid earlier, I decided to explain her to you a bit.**

_**Bookloverf4ever:**_** Just OK? How come? 'Cause I didn't make them get together?**

**_Purpleflower23:_ I don't think Peter thinks of Sabrina as anything more than a friend. He's just messing with Puck 'cause he hates him.**

_**() of chapter 57:**_** Well, thank you for your... abrupt review... of demands. How exactly do you want me to work on my cliffhangers? More or less or more dramatic ones or what? I will tell you what I've told _everyone_ who asks for Puckabrina: It's coming. Slowly. I'm trying to keep them in character. There are other fics which you can read for PuckxSabrina intensity.**

* * *

"Granny?" Sabrina asked when she got downstairs. "Can I borrow some forgetful dust? A lot, actually? And then maybe go out for a fly? A long one?"

"Maybe, _liebling_." Granny said worriedly. "What do you want it for, though, and where are you going?"

"Puck and I kind of had a... mishap... today," Sabrina started, "And a lot of people saw it, and it's embarrassing, and I want to make sure nobody teases us about it tomorrow."

"And what exactly was this mishap?" Granny asked.

"Well, I kind of fell on him, and... ahm..." Sabrina fudged, "We may have had some... physical contact... in the face region that neither of us... wanted... or enjoyed..."

"Ah." Granny said, understanding written on her face. "Well, _liebling_, I do believe I'm not going to give you any forgetful dust, I'm sorry."

"What?" Sabrina asked. "Why?"

"It's marked as a Class II controlled substance by the magical law enforcement." Granny explained. "You need a special permit to carry it, and another to use it. I have both, and they only give me a certain amount. It's part of the reason that the location of Oz is so closely guarded. You have neither permit, nor are you old enough to get one. And even if you did, you'd have to sign a paper saying that you would only use it in situations affecting your personal well-being or the secrecy of the magical community. This isn't one of those, dear heart."

"But-" Sabrina protested. "Can't you use it? It's so embarrassing!"

"No, Sabrina, I can't." Granny said a little shortly. "You'll simply have to deal with this the way everyone else does. I daresay it shouldn't be _too_ difficult. The two of you have had your run-ins before and survived."

"Fine." Sabrina said, making a face. "Thanks for nothing."

"Sabrina, that's no way to talk to your grandmother." Rapunzel scolded."Apologize."

"I'm sorry, didn't realize you were my mother, Rapunzel." Sabrina said, falsely sweet.

Granny looked at her sternly.

Sabrina sighed. "Sorry, both of you. It's just... GAH, this is so annoying!"

"You'll survive." Rapunzel said.

Sabrina screamed angrily and stomped back up the stairs, pulling Red with her.

"Ah, Rapunzel, it might be best if, while you're here, and, well, afterwards, too, you _not_ attempt to be an authority figure for Sabrina." Granny said tactfully. "She's still dealing with a lot, and you have to be careful how you get her to do things."

"I respected authority when I was her age." Rapunzel muttered.

"Yes, well, you were a child several hundred years ago, and your authority figure was a witch." Granny pointed out. "Whereas Sabrina spent a year and a half surrounded by incompetent adults who were most definitely not suited to take care of her. It's made her wary of anyone trying to give her instructions. And I seem to remember _you_ having a bit of a rebellious streak yourself."

"That was different." Rapunzel said. "I was in love."

"So is she." Granny smiled softly. "She simply doesn't realize it yet."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, but said, "All right, I'll watch my step around her."

Granny smiled. "Good. Thank you."

* * *

"What's taking you so long?" Daphne asked.

Bella was in the shower, and Daphne sat outside, bored out of her skull. It had been over half an hour, and Bella still wasn't washed. Thankfully, though, Uncle Jake had figured out a way to keep the handcuffs from causing indecency issues.

"I have a lot of hair, OK?" Bella asked. "It takes me a while to wash. Maybe if we had better water pressure... Can you pass me the loofah?"

"The what?" Daphne asked.

"The spongy thing." Bella elaborated. "It's hanging from the doorknob."

Daphne tossed the desired object over the shower curtain, and it clattered to the floor of the tub.

"Hey!" Bella complained. "That almost hit me!"

"Sorry." Daphne said, not sounding sorry. "What do you need it for?"

"It exfoliates my skin." Bella said.

"Which means what?" Daphne asked.

"It gets rid of the dead skin cells." Bella explained.

"But..." Daphne started, confused, "But I thought they fell off on their own. I don't need to use the loofah or whatever it is."

"I have a skin condition." Bella said. "It's 'cause of the frog thing, and it's worse whenever I transform. But something makes my skin cells stick together, probably the same thing that keeps me from falling off ceilings, so I have to use this otherwise my skin cells build up and it looks really gross."

"So that's part of what takes you so long in the bathroom in the mornings?" Daphne asked.

"Exactly." Bella said. "What did you think I was doing?"

"Putting on makeup or primping or something." Daphne said.

"I do that in my room." Bella said. "And it doesn't take nearly as long. I can almost put my makeup on in my sleep, I do it so much. I'm kind of offended. How shallow do you think I am?"

"A lot more than you really are, apparently..." Daphne said quietly.

"I care about how I look, Daphne, but that's not all I am." Bella said. "Is it that bad that I want a little normalcy? One thing that I can control? We could die any day, and sometimes... I just feel so lost, so _helpless_, and taking care of my looks is my way of getting back some sense of self."

"Oh." Daphne said. "Kind of like how you were in denial about us getting attacked three hours from now?"

"Pretty much." Bella said. "I'm not proud of that. I just, oh I just want to be _normal_ sometimes!"

"Someday." Daphne said. "Once we've won the war."

"But what if we don't win?" Bella asked. "Then there won't even _be_ a normal. That's why I want to fight, actually. Because I never got the chance to be an ordinary kid, and I want to save it for the people who are. Maybe I'll get a chance, then."

"Sabrina used to think like that, didn't she?" Daphne asked.

Bella nodded. "She still kind of does. I think that's why we're friends, even though we're so different."

Daphne sat back thoughtfully. She'd always thought Bella was just a pretty face who happened to be good at science. But now... maybe there was more to her.

* * *

Sabrina and Red flew to school the next day.

They left early, before anyone else was really awake, beating the arguments out of the house. They'd written a note saying where they went so that the adults didn't worry, and taken to the skies, flying high and safe in the crisp morning air.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" Sabrina asked.

Red nodded, but said nothing.

"Wassup?" Sabrina asked, noticing the look on the smaller girl's face.

"I was just thinking..." Red said.

"About what?" Sabrina asked.

"Lots of things." Red said.

"Such as...?" Sabrina hinted.

"We kind of seem to be fighting a lot less than the others." Red said. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe 'cause you're so quiet." Sabrina mused. "And 'cause I'm trying. Really hard. I want to be nice. I seriously do, not just to you, but in general. It's hard, though. What else were you thinking about?"

"I was just remembering the jabberwocky." Red said. "I know it was scary and huge, but... I loved it, and I think it loved me. And I miss it. I miss having a pet, actually."

"Elvis doesn't count?" Sabrina asked.

"No, he's Granny's." Red explained.

"Maybe Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar will give you one for your birthday." Sabrina suggested.

Red shook her head. "I doubt it. Where are they going to get one? And even if they did... it's too dangerous for a pet that's not magical here."

"Mmm..." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "So what else were you thinking about?"

"It's nice to have a family." Red said. "But... what are we? Papa Jake is your uncle, but I'm adopted, and not even really adopted. So what are we?"

"Family." Sabrina said simply. "Who needs labels?"

"I dunno, I like to know what exactly everyone is." Red said. "Maybe it's just 'cause I'm still trying to get my family back, like I did... before..."

"Red, you don't need to find your old family any more." Sabrina pointed out. "You have a new family now, and we love you."

"Do you ever..." Red started hesitantly, "Do you ever worry that I'm still crazy?"

"No." Sabrina said. "I saw Daphne pull the craziness right out of you. Maybe before, right at the start, I wasn't sure if it would work, but... I _know_ you, Red, and you're as sane as I am."

"So crazy, then?" Red asked.

Sabrina stared at the smaller child. "Did you just make a joke?" She grinned.

Red nodded, smiling shyly.

Sabrina nodded. "Puck would have been proud. Especially since you made fun of me. Was there anything else on your mind?"

"Not really, aside from the normal stuff." Red said.

"Which is...?" Sabrina prompted.

"Art, school, Daphne, more art, the war..." Red trailed off.

Sabrina grinned. "Ah, Daphne. Made it onto your list."

"She's my best friend." Red said simply.

"I know." Sabrina smiled, flying down to the parking lot of the school. "It was just kind of weird, 'cause the rest of it is big, general stuff."

Red let go of Sabrina's hand and the two walked into the cafeteria, sitting down at a table to wait for school to start, since they were kind of tremendously early.

Puck and Peter arrived shortly afterwards, shouting at each other.

"-told you she'd be fine!" Puck snapped. "Why'd you have to tell the Old Lady they'd left? We missed breakfast!"

"Think that might have had something to do with it?" Peter returned. "Did you _see_ that food?"

"Yeah, it looked delicious!" Puck said, "What was wrong with it?"

"It was green!" Peter snapped. "The only food that's supposed to be green is vegetables, and they taste awful! No good food is green!"

"Shows what you know!" Puck rolled his eyes. "The Old Lady makes fantastic food!"

"Right." Peter said sarcastically. "And I'm a married man!"

"Why aren't you?" Sabrina piped up, interrupting. "I mean, Wendy seemed available, according to what I read, and you obviously liked her, too..."

Peter just stared at Sabrina for a full minute, then stalked over to the opposite end of the cafeteria.

"I don't think he liked that." Red whispered.

Sabrina put a hand to her mouth and called, "Peter, sorry, I had a word vomit moment, I didn't mean to say that! I'm seriously sorry!" She addedmroe quietly, "Please please please don't go around telling people what happened yesterday..."

Peter glared at her for a few seconds, then said, "Fine. Whatever."

Sabrina sighed in relief. "Thank you, higher power."

The two pairs sat on opposite ends of the cafeteria for a while, until Red stood up suddenly. "Come on. I'm bored."

"Wha-" Sabrina stopped, remembering her task for the week. Red was taking charge, which meant she was supposed to sit back and go with it.

They walked over to the boys and Red sat down, pulling Sabrina with her.

"Hi." Red said.

The boys nodded at her. Sabrina snickered, noticing just how alike their actions were.

"What?" Peter asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Sabrina said.

"Somehow, I don't believe you." Puck said, leaning forward.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Sabrina assured him.

"Come on, dish!" Puck demanded.

Sabrina was about to protest again when there was a clanking noise behind her. She spun, eyes alert, pulling Red halfway out of her chair.

It was just Momma, who was opening up the kitchen. "Morning, kiddos!" She called. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Sorry, Red." Sabrina said, turning to the girl, who was righting herself. "Hi, Momma! We left early 'cause the house is too loud."

"Did you eat anything first?" Momma asked.

"No." Puck complained, glaring pointedly at Peter. "'Cause _somebody_ had to go and tell the Old Lady that Grimm and Red had gone missing, so she sent us out to check on them before she finished cooking!"

"Well, come on in to the kitchen, then." Momma invited. "I think I can whip you up something."

They all stood, disentangling themselves from each other, and wormed their way between the jam-packed tables of the cafeteria to the kitchen and the lunch line, where Momma was already mixing a bowl of what looked like pancake batter.

"Wow, that looks delicious." Sabrina said, watching Momma pour the most definitely pancake batter onto a frying pan.

"Dibs on first!" Peter called.

Momma chuckled. "You're funny, sugar, but you get the last ones now."

"Aww..." Peter whined as Puck laughed in his face.

"And now you're next to last." Momma told Puck, who lost his grin abruptly.

Sabrina and Red looked at each other warily. "You can eat first." Red offered.

"And you, sugar bunches, get the first pancakes!" Momma announced, handing a plate to Red.

"Wha-" Red started, "But I..."

"Why do I feel like we've just been involved in a moral story?" Sabrina asked.

"That would be because we have." Puck said. "Like one of those TV shows Daphne likes, or something..."

"PBS?" Sabrina asked. "Wow, Momma..."

"Hey, I like to add a bit of moral stuff in now and again." Momma smiled, flipping the pancakes. "Go sit down."

They did, and Momma served them pancakes a few minutes later. They enjoyed a wonderful breakfast before Puck and Peter began arguing over who would get the last one, and Momma ejected them from the kitchen.

"Don't come back until you can stop arguing." She scolded them "No fights in my kitchen!"

Sabrina and Red split the last pancake, then walked out to join the two boys, leaving Momma to clean up.

"Oops." Sabrina said, turning. "Momma, you want a hand?"

Momma chuckled. "I got it, sugar. But thanks."

"No problem..." Sabrina said, turning around again and walking with Red back to the boys.

"See?" Red asked Sabrina. "It hasn't been awkward after all. You and Puck are getting along fine!"

"We've barely spoken to each other." Sabrina pointed out. "And nobody's been around to tease us yet. It'll get worse, just you wait."

Red made an if-you-say-so face and said nothing.

They were back at their table again, and Puck and Peter were arguing, volume increasing as they went on.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, shut _up_!" Sabrina snapped. "We get it. You hate each other. Move on, would you? It's getting boring!"

"You argue more than Sabrina and Puck ever did." Red added. "It's kind of scary."

"Maybe just cut down to that amount." Sabrina suggested. "And stop repeating yourselves. At least be original so that I can be entertained."

"Because I live to entertain you, stinkpot." Puck rolled his eyes.

"See?" Sabrina asked. "You're not even using original insults anymore. You called Peter an ant-brain at least five times."

"Fine, we'll mix it up." Peter said. "I'll call him a... I don't know, actually."

"Well, shut up until you _do_ know." Sabrina suggested.

The boys did, and a few minutes later, other students began filing in the doors, signaling the start of another day.


	72. You're going to hate me for this

**AN~This is one of those scenes that would work better as a movie, 'cause we're following people around the room, and pictures would be so helpful. Also, about halfway through this chapter, I got a suggestion to put more action in with the dialogue 'cause it's just people talking to each other, so if you notice a shift partway through, that's why.**

_**Paige:**_** I made Daphne an everafter because I didn't want Sabrina to stay young forever and watch Daphne get old and die. Have I made Sabrina in the wrong in taking care of Daphne? I haven't meant to... Daphne's a brat, in my opinion, I'm trying to tone her down a bit on the brat-level in this. Yeah. I know. I'm sorry. Really I am. The exposition on this is terrible. I would hate to read this if I was browsing fanfiction. I'm actually quite close to building up to some major plot points. Thanks for your helpful review!**

_**Dragonine:**_** Isn't it, though? And thanks!**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** Rapunzel is the person I thought would be the best counterpart for Granny. She hasn't been in the story before this point.**

_**AlcoholicGoldfish:**_** That chapter and this one are non-action-ey things that I need to get in to remind people and myself that the characters have lives other than the war. Right. That teasing thing. Getting on that...**

_**silverwombat:**_** Wow, thank you so much! / I doubt I'm the best author ever, but it's nice that you think so. You should try writing your stories. You'll get better the more you write.**

_**Booklover4ever: **_**Oh, good, as long as it's not dull. :)**

_**ANannyMouse:**_** I like your name. :) Nice play on words. Aww... I discouraged reviews? Dangit. That's not what I was trying to do. I appreciate all reviews, it's just sometimes people review the same thing on every story, and it's like... well... But thank you so much! ^.^**

_**Agd:**_** Glad you liked it! :) Really? The Momma pancakes thing made you laugh? (insert Charlie Sheen here) WINNNING!**

_**()**_**: I assume you're the same () I responded to in the last chapter? I'm not 20-something, though I can direct you to a pair of 20-somethings who write and critique (that is what you mean, not critice?) fanfictions: go look up Ayns and Sky. Also, I have two jobs already and go to college full-time. This is just something I enjoy that I fit in to help me wind down. If I had more of a life, I'd have no time to sleep.**

**My apologies if I came across as rude, I tend to be shorter with those who are short with me, and nicer to those who ask for things instead of demanding them.**

**If you don't want to read 74 chapters, why are you still here?  
**

**Would you mind telling me what about my style sucks wholeheartedly so that I can fix it? That's much more helpful than just telling me there's an issue. **

**Please, don't go on. You're making a bit of a fool of yourself with your assumptions, and I'm not going to go cry or anything. You know, I'm honestly surprised that you're one of the first angry reviews I've gotten. I think this is the... third?**

* * *

Class was remarkably easy for Sabrina. Red's classes (other than art) were all lessons she'd already learned, and the two of them had figured out a system yesterday that worked for them.

Nobody else seemed to have been that lucky, though, and by the time they met up for study group, everyone was exhausted, grumpy, and in no mood to be doing anything useful.

Sabrina sighed and looked helplessly at Red. "I think we're the only ones in any mood to be studying."

"Half of them aren't even on speaking terms with their partners." Red noticed.

"I wish there was something we could _do_!" Sabrina moaned. "But that's probably against the rules."

"It didn't stop you with Puck and Peter." Red pointed out.

"That was different." Sabrina said. "I just wanted them to shut up."

"Well, Daphne and Bella look like they're getting along, at least." Red said.

"Really?" Sabrina asked, turning. "Wow. You're right. That's great!"

"I wonder what happened with them." Red mused.

"Dunno." Sabrina said. "So... what do you want to do until it's time to-"

"Sabrina!" A shout interrupted her, and Jane, attached to Tiger Lily stalked over, dragging Pinocchio. "You invited this kid here?"

"Maybe..." Sabrina hedged. "Why?"

"He's driving the few of us who are actually trying to do work crazy! Keeps insisting he knows more than we do!"

"It's no fault of mine that you knowledge is lesser than what I possess!" Pinocchio protested. "You ought to be taking complete advantage of the situation, not making cutting remarks."

"And only half of us understand what he's saying." Jane added.

Sabrina sighed. "Guys, could you try to not argue right now? I'm trying to figure out how to get us to actually get something done today."

"Well, figure it out fast, 'cause we need to get our homework done." Jane snapped, stalking off and leaving Pinocchio with Sabrina and Red.

"Say..." Tiger Lily said thoughtfully as they walked off. "I have a way to make Peter's partnership a little less heinous."

"Oh?" Jane asked.

"They both like playing jokes, right?" Tiger Lily asked. "And Pinocchio needs to be dealt with..."

"I see what you're saying." Jane smiled. "And that'll make things much easier on Sabrina, too."

The two girls ran over to Puck and Peter and explained their plan.

Puck stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think you're on to something here, girls..."

"But you have to work together." Jane stressed. "Be quiet, and no more arguing. Capische?"

Puck and Peter looked at each other, then Peter put out his free hand. "Whatcha say? Throw aside the hatchet?"

Puck shook Peter's free hand with his own in an awkward upside-down shake and said, "Sure. For now. You're still an idiot."

"Ditto." Peter said. "Let's get to it!"

The boys flew off, leaving Jane and Tiger Lily behind.

"Maybe we should take a hint from them." Jane said. "Put aside our differences and whatnot."

Tiger Lily smiled. "I've never quite understood why you didn't like me."

"Something about Peter." Jane said. "But I'm over him now, so friends?"

"Friends." Tiger lily smiled.

Across the room, Peaseblossom and Renee watched as Puck and Peter planned something out, and Jane sighed.

Peaseblossom turned to Renee and spoke to her for the first time that day. "All right, girl, you need to stop playing with my brother's emotions."

Renee turned. "What? I've barely even talked to Puck in months! He doesn't like me!"

"Not _Puck_, you dumbwat!" Peaseblossom rolled her eyes. "He could care less. Which of my brothers do you spend a lot of time with?"

"Must..ar...dseed..." Renee trailed off. "Oh, for the love of-! You can't mean- we're just friends!"

"Does he know that?" Peaseblossom asked. "'Cause you spend a lot of time with him, and he's always been there for you... Honestly, and I don't have favorites, but Mustardseed is the most mature member of the family."

"He's also..." Renee shook her head. "Just no.

"Why not?" Peaseblossom asked. "Give me one good reason to dislike Mustardseed."

"He's... umm..." Renee thought, "He's... he's just so _nice_!"

"And that's a bad thing?" Peaseblossom asked. "Oh, I get it. You're one of those girls who wants a 'bad boy'. I've never understood that."

"I don't want a bad boy, I just... I don't _like_ Mustardseed like that!" Renee explained. "I don't have a reason, it's not really something I can control! I've honestly never even though of him like that."

Peaseblossom shook her head sadly. "Your loss."

Mustardseed turned away sadly. That was what he got for listening in on other people's conversations.

"Sorry, bud." Wendell looked at him sympathetically.

Mustardseed shrugged, saying, "Well, I should have expected it. She never exibited any signs... but I did hope, that, given enough time..."

"Yeah, I understand." Wendell said. "It's hard to not hope, no matter how stupid it is."

Mustardseed laughed bitterly and asked, "At the risk of sounding unmanly, how do you deal with this? I understand grief, and I understand rational things, and anger, up to a point, but this- this is new, and I don't... how do you cope?"

Wendell shrugged. "I dunno. You just... do. You try to talk yourself into accepting it, and you hope you haven't made too much of a fool of yourself, and you try to move on. But you probably won't, not for a while."

Mustardseed sighed. "So you don't really?"

"Well, remember you're talking to the guy who decided to not talk to his crush for ages after he got burned." Wendell pointed out.

"I don't believe I'll do that." Musardseed said. "Perhaps I'll attempt to act normal around her."

Wendell snorted. "Good luck."

"Thank you for your confidence." Mustardseed said dryly.

"Confidence in what?" Art asked, appearing next to them.

"Nothing important." Mustardseed said. "How are you doing?"

"Terrible." Art said. "I'm stuck to a dude in a wheelchair!"

"You think you have it bad?" Tim complained. "You've been dragging me everywhere!"

"Well, if you'd just admit you don't need it, then we'd be fine!" Art rolled his eyes, muttering "Faker." under his breath.

"I heard that!" Tim called. "And I am not!"

"Sure." Art said. "And I'm a sprite."

"Can't the two of you get along?" Mustardseed asked, sighing in exasperation. "Just for this week? Look, even Puck and Peter are working together." He pointed towards his brother

The two boys looked where Mustardseed was pointing, and saw Pinocchio covered in a pile of paperclips while Puck and Peter high-fived each other.

"That's different." Art said. "They were friends once. It was just a matter of getting them to see past their stupid differences."

"Maybe you two can do the same thing?" Wendell asked hopefully.

The two looked at each other, then in unison shook their heads and said, "No."

They walked away and Mustardseed sighed. "Well, at least they agree on something."

Alice's laugh in his ear surprised him. Attached to a white-haired teenage girl whose name Mustardseed didn't know but fairy tale he did, she had snuck up on him.

"They'll never be friends." Alice smiled. "Even if they get past the 'faker' thing, there's still Daphne."

"Hello." Mustardseed said to the girl. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Mustardseed. And I do believe you're right, Alice."

"Hi." The girl smiled at him. "I know who you are. I honestly don't know my name anymore. Call me Minette."

"From The White Cat, yes?" Mustardseed asked.

She nodded.

"How do you not know your name?" Wendell interrupted. "I'm Wendell, by the way."

"I was a cat for over a hundred years." She explained. "Nobody called me by my name then. The first human I even saw after that just called me minette, so that's my name now."

"Minette seems like a name to me..." Wendell said.

"It means pussy cat in French." Mustardseed explained. "Honestly, Wendell, we've had French class, you ought to know this."

"You think I pay attention?" Wendell asked. "I'm too busy trying to get Bella's dad to not be evil."

"So how are you, Minette?" Mustardseed asked.

"All right, I suppose..." Minette said.

"That doesn't sound very all right to me." Wendell said.

"Wendell!" Mustardseed rolled his eyes. "Be polite!"

"It's fine, really." Minette said, a little sadly.

Mustardseed gave her a skeptical look.

"Her husband disappeared." Alice whispered. "It was a while ago, but she's still pretty down about it."

"When?" Wendell asked.

"Two years ago tomorrow." Minette said sadly.

"I'm very sorry, Minette." Mustardseed said.

"Oh, don't be, it's not your fault." Minette said. "I just wish I knew what happened to him!"

"Maybe..." Wendell started tentatively. "Have you ever wondered about... the Scarlet Hand?"

Minette drew herself up, offended. "He wouldn't join them! And if he did, he wouldn't abandon me!"

"Not like that!" Wendell said hurriedly, even though that was what he'd meant, "I mean, like, Sabrina and Daphne's parents were kidnapped, right? So maybe he was, too."

Minette sniffed. "Maybe."

"Wendell, there's this thing called tact." Mustardseed said, sitting down wearily. "You have none. Please get it. Soon."

"How?" Wendell asked. "Is there, like, a class I can take?"

"That would be a good idea, actually!" Alice said in excitement, bouncing a bit.

"Who would teach it, though?" Minette asked, blinking at Alice. "Please stop that, child, you're acting rather immature, and it's annoying."

"Sorry." Alice said, blushing and sitting, too. "I've just got a lot of energy."

Minette sat down, and Wendell, realizing that he was the only one of the group left standing, took a seat at the table, heaving his arm and Mustardseed's onto the table.

"Mother could teach it." Mustardseed said thoughtfully, looking at his arm and Wendell's with a resigned expression. "Though it might take some convincing. It would be wonderfully useful to have a class on diplomacy."

A burst of particularly loud shouting punctuated his words, and the four turned to see Puck and Peter laughing hysterically while Pinocchio shouted at them from behind Sabrina, who was shouting even louder.

"Just a bit." Minette agreed.

"Maybe... maybe we should start trying to do our homework..." Alice suggested, pulling her heavy book bag onto the table with one hand and a grunt.

The others grabbed their bags, too, but Wendell hesitated.

"Going to be hard to concentrate in here..." He said doubtfully.

"True enough, but if we're going to be here, we might as well try to get something done." Mustardseed pointed out, rummaging in his bag for a pencil.

"Do you have any lead?" Alice asked. "For a mechanical pencil?" She shook hers. "I'm out."

"What size?" Mustardseed asked, returning to his bag. "I have... point seven, point five, point nine, maybe point two..."

"Why do you have so many sizes?" Wendell asked, pulling out his math book. "You only really need one."

"In case other people want different sizes." Mustardseed explained. "Will you be wanting help with math?"

"No, I think I've got it today." Wendell said, settling down to work.

The others followed suit, but Minette stopped after about fifteen minutes, dropping her pencil with a sigh. "It's no use." She said. "I just can't concentrate with all this noise."

"Me neither." Alice said angrily, throwing her pencil at Puck, who was flying overhead, laughing with Peter.

Puck stuck his tongue out at her, caught the pencil, and started poking Peter with it.

"What is this?" Peter asked, turning. "Who dares attack the great Pan?"

"I challenge you to a duel, fiendish nag!" Puck cried, brandishing the mechanical pencil.

"Say what?" Peter asked. "Well, then, I rise to your challenge, petty youth! But give me a weapon!"

Puck searched himself for a minute. "Got nothin'. Sorry."

"Puck!" Bella's screech rose over the din. "What did you _do_?"

"That's our cue to skedaddle." Puck said. "I'll find you a pencil somewhere else. Or maybe even a pen!"

Peter cackled, flying off. "Oooh, a _pen_! Luxury, that is!"

Sabrina appeared by the foursome a few seconds later, looking harried and pulling an exhausted Red along behind her. "Have you seen Puck?" She asked. "He and Peter have been working together. It's even worse than when they were arguing. I need to make them quit."

"They went that way." Wendell pointed towards the bookshelves. As Sabrina turned to leave, he continued, "Listen, Sabrina- this isn't working. The study group. Not right now, at least."

Sabrina sighed, running a hand down her face, pulling Red's hand after hers. "Yeah, I know. It's just... not working."

"Maybe... maybe we should quit." Alice suggested. "Just for this week."

Sabrina sighed and nodded. "I'll go tell everyone, I guess. It's not like they're doing anything anyway."

She walked off and began talking to people, two by two. They filed out as she left them, and soon the room was almost empty.

"Well, let's go." Sabrina said, looking at the last few people.

They headed out, and downstairs, Curlscat inserted another cliffhanger.


	73. Casualities

**AN~ Ah, dramatic tension. You may hate me more for this chapter than the ending of the last one. Enjoy! :)**

_**Purpleflower23**_**: Thank you, :) And I think getting lazy and just telling you it was a cliffhanger was a good way to make more tension and get rid of tension at the same time, don't you?**

_**AlcoholicGoldfish:**_** I personally think it's worse for Puck and Peter to get along than fight. Scary idea, right there... Curlscat inserting another cliffhanger was an apology for ANOTHER one, and you'll see! ^.^ Thank you!**

_**ANannyMouse: **_**From what I've heard, most people like long reviews, so that's fine with me :) Jane is Wendy's daughter from the last chapter of Peter Pan; Alice is from Alice in Wonderland, yes; and Minette's about sixteen. Thanks for the review!**

* * *

"How did we _miss_ this?" Sabrina asked, horrified.

Mustardseed shook his head mutely, and the others just stared.

"I mean, how did we not _hear_ it?" Sabrina continued.

Outside, there was a horrific, major-scale battle taking place. And, from the short time the group had been standing there in shock, it looked like the Blue Foot was winning.

"We should go out there." Red said quietly. "Try to help them."

Sabrina nodded, and the two charged out. The others followed more slowly, and they joined the battle.

Sabrina pulled her sword out and transformed it to its fighting mode. "Do you see Puck?" She called to Red, stabbing at a card soldier.

The card soldier turned away from Peaseblossom to Sabrina, and the two started dueling.

Red shook her head, putting her back to Sabrina's. "Not in the sky. And the ground's such a mess..."

Peaseblossom continued to fight the card soldier, and, along with Sabrina, they had him out of commission soon.

"Thanks." She called to Sabrina.

"No problem." Sabrina responded. "Have you seen Daphne?"

"Not since I got out here." Peaseblossom said, turning to help Renee with her partner. "She was heading that way."

Peaseblossom nodded to her left, and Sabrina and Red looked at each other, then headed in that direction, fighting their way awkwardly through the fray.

Their side was not doing well. From what Sabrina could see, none of the Scarlet Hand members were handcuffed, and they were taking full advantage of that.

"We need reinforcements or something!" Red said, ducking under the swing of a sword.

Sabrina nodded, and swung her sword at Red's attacker. "I wish I had, like, a cell phone or something to call Granny with!" She muttered.

The hilt of Sabrina's sword began to glow, which in itself wasn't that surprising, because it glowed when she changed its shape, but the fact that it glowed purple- the color of Granny's sword's stone- gave her pause, and she stared at it, forgetting the battle for a second. The glow faded, and Sabrina was treated to a miniscule view of the kitchen from the dining room table, and Granny's hip.

"Granny!" Sabrina shouted, recovering herself.

Her grandmother spun wildly, then Rapunzel's voice cam from somewhere, "Your sword is glowing blue, Relda. Is that normal?"

Granny's face appeared in Sabrina's sapphire, growing larger rapidly. "Sabrina?" She said. "What are you doing, _liebling_?"

"We broke the study group up early, and when-" Sabrina broke off, striking at Red's attacker, who had decided Sabrina was the more important target, "-we got downstairs, these people were-" She hit the card soldier with a series of short, fast, heavy strokes, "-waiting for us, and we need help."

"All right, _liebling_, Granny said, worry creasing her brow- or maybe that was just the facets of the jewel, "We'll be there as soon as possible with as many people as we can get. Hold on!"

Sabrina nodded, and ran her thumb over the jewel, hoping it would cut off the connection. It did, and she went back to fighting, falling into the mindless pattern of swordfighting, the simple strike and block that was coming naturally to her now, forgetting that poor Red was being pulled along with her every stroke.

Red, for her part, decided to do her best to watch Sabrina's body for signs and try to predict what she was going to do next, so that she could keep from slowing her partner down. She managed it, sort of, and was eventually able to keep a look out for the people Sabrina was most worried about.

"I see Daphne!" Red called, eventually, snapping Sabrina out of berserker mode.

Sabrina's head twisted around wildly, and she asked, "Where?"

Red pointed, and Sabrina began fighting even more fiercely than before, rushing to her sister and best friend.

When they reached the other two girls, Bella said, "Took you long enough! Where have you been?"

"Trying to find you." Sabrina said, slicing the head off something that looked suspiciously like a zombie and lighting the remains on fire. "How did you survive without me?"

"We were doing pretty well, actually." Daphne said, offended but winded. "I killed a vampire."

"Nice." Sabrina said approvingly. "Have you seen Puck?"

Bella shook her head. "No, and believe me, I was looking. That guy owes-" She sliced at a dwarf, "-owes me for what he did."

"Can you forget it for now?" Sabrina asked wearily, turning her back to Bella and Daphne, partly to fight another opponent and partly to hide how worried she was. "Kill him after we survive this."

"And make sure he survived." Bella said darkly.

Sabrina hissed quietly, and went back to fighting in automatic mode, letting herself stop thinking, and the battle became a blur. She didn't notice how many enemies she took out, or even what they looked like, or when/if the reinforcements showed up, or what was happening with Daphne, Bella, and Red. She was in her element, and she could forget about everything else.

Only when she was too exhausted to lift her sword did she take a break to look around and notice just how badly her side was losing, even with their backup. They just weren't prepared, and they couldn't work together.

"We're doomed." Sabrina muttered, panting.

Red nodded, pushing her hair out of her eyes and looking at Sabrina in awe. "You fight like a machine."

"This is what I'm good at." Sabrina said bitterly. "But not good enough." She ran her thumb over her sapphire again, but this time, instead of glowing purple, it glowed different colors in different facets. She looked at all of them, too exhausted to be surprised at what her sword could do, and shouted at her family, "Pull out! We're not going to make it!"

Every member of her family nodded, but Henry asked, "How are we going to get back safely?"

Sabrina whistled loudly, grabbing her chicken house key with her free hand and cut of the connection. "I'll call the house and put up a barrier. Take everyone you can fit back home," she said, turning to Daphne, still holding the key. "OK?"

"You're not coming, are you?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina shook her head, surprised by the circle of calm that seemed to surround the four of them. It was only later that she realized it was the huge collection of dead and unconscious monsters keeping her enemies away. She pulled off her necklace and handed it to Daphne. "The house will listen to you, but I have to keep them from following you."

"See you at home?" Daphne asked hopefully, though inside she was dying to scream at her sister that she was being stupid and self-sacrificing. After all, no one else could do what Sabrina could. And her sister's future was set, up to this point. No matter what she thought of saying, Sabrina wouldn't leave.

Sabrina nodded. "Love you, Daffy."

"Love you, too, big sister." Daphne said, shouting over the sound of the chicken house's stomping feet.

The house stopped in front of the sisters, and Daphne and Bella climbed in. Then Sabrina turned to the handcuffs between herself and Red, and, lighting a fire in her hand, melted the chain connecting them out of existence. Red, with barely any hesitation, climbed into the house, too. It stood up, and Sabrina turned away from it, sitting down on the ground.

A barrier formed around the battlefield, glowing with the oily sheen of all Sabrina's bubbles, with Sabrina sitting serenely in the center.

The house trampled off obliviously, its chimney sticking outside of the bubble, and Daphne told it, "Go get my parents!"

* * *

Mr. Clay watched the house leave with the all but the last three soldiers on the Blue Foot's side, satisfied, and turned back to Sabrina, just in time to stop Nottingham's slash to her face. He, Robin Hood, and Charming had remained on the battlefield to make sure everyone was safe. He'd declared himself Sabrina's protector in the absence of Puck, and Snow and Jake were off searching for any of their own fallen soldiers to bring them to safety outside Sabrina's red paint-impermeable barrier, to wait for the return of the house one last time.

He looked down at Sabrina, and with a sigh, he did what he'd been keeping himself from doing for as long as possible. His body rippled as he transformed into the wolf, and he crouched over Sabrina, waiting for any attacker smart enough to find the source of their imprisonment.

The absence of Puck worried him. The boy would normally be at Sabrina's side, fulfilling his self-proclaimed role of protector. But nobody had seen hide nor hair of the fairy boy or Peter Pan since before the battle started, and he couldn't smell him, even with the heightened senses of the wolf.

He also knew that there was no way he was getting out of this, nor Sabrina. They'd have to wait until Robin, Charming, and the casualties were far away before the barrier came down, and after that, the hand would converge full-force. Sabrina was in a trance at the moment, all her dwindling energy focused on keeping the barrier up, and he didn't think he could move her out of the barrier without it coming down around their ears. Either way, they'd be stranded, surrounded by the enemy. He'd simply have to keep her safe as best as possible, and hope that they didn't kill her. His own life wasn't that much of an issue, because if he died, he'd see Baba Yaga again, but Sabrina had to live.

When everyone else was out of the barrier, he knew because all the Scarlet Hand members turned to him suddenly. Smiling fiercely, her turned to meet them

* * *

"They didn't come home." Daphne said, horrified.

She was looking at the fortress full of refugees, searching in vain for any of two blonde heads she knew weren't there.

"Did you really think they would?" Bella asked, eyes blank. "Honestly?"

"No, but I hoped." Daphne whispered, following after Bella, who was heading for Nurse Sprat.

"What is it?" Nurse Sprat asked when the two girls arrived, rubbing her eyes, which were accentuated with dark circles.

"I want to help." Bella said. "I'm the one in the biology classes, and... I can't stand this. What can I do?"

"You want to be a doctor, girl?" Nurse Sprat asked, handing her a roll of gauze and a brown bottle.

Bella nodded. "It's the most help I can be. What do you want me to do?"

Nurse Sprat handed Daphne another roll, this one of bandages. "Go clean wounds and bandage them. Finish everyone you can, and once they're done, if they can walk, send them someplace I'll know they're finished. Start on the left side of the room, I'll take that one." She pointed to the right side of the room and walked off.

Daphne and Bella spent a horrible afternoon bandaging hideous wounds, learning magical cures, and trying not to puke. When they got home that night, and Daphne saw the barrier of Sabrina's that was still up around the house, she burst into exhausted tears, and had to be half pushed, half carried inside.

Veronica, whose own eyes were quite red, ushered the two girls upstairs to Daphne's room, and, once they were in bed, sat down with a sigh on the couch, pulling Goldilocks with her.

"That was... horrible." Goldilocks said, eyes wide.

Veronica didn't say anything, drumming her fingers on the couch mechanically. Her tearstained eyes were blank, and she didn't seem to be entirely aware of the world around her.

"I... I'm sorry, Veronica." Goldi said, tentative. "It must be horrible, not sure if you'll end up losing your child like this."

"Yeah." Veronica croaked. "Kind of like not being sure if you'll lose your husband."

"What do you mean?" Goldi asked, eyes widening.

"You were his first love, Goldilocks." Veronica said, rubbing her eyes. "And... I was so distant, and he doesn't want to be here, and I _lied_ to him for years, and... you're there. It's like a shadow, and I want to like you, really I do, but... I'm just so scared that you're going to take the man I love, and it's horrible."

Goldi smiled at Veronica sadly. "I wish. But he's yours. He loves _you_. He woke you up from the spell. Not just anybody could do that."

"But people can love twice." Veronica pointed out, fingers still drumming. "Charming woke Briar up, but he still loves Snow."

"Trust me, Veronica, he won't be coming back to me." Goldi assured her. "It breaks my heart, but he told me he's done with me. In his head, I'm the reason his father died, and he'll never get past that."

Veronica's fingers stopped drumming. "I'm sorry." She said. "I know you loved him, and I took him from you. I'm not sorry that I love him, or that he loves me, but I'm sorry you've been hurt. I never meant that."

"I forgive you." Goldi said. "And I truly am sorry about Sabrina."

"I hope she's OK." Veronica said, and her voice was hollow again. "You don't think they'll kill her, do you?"

Goldi shook her head. "They didn't kill you. And she's got something they want: control of the barrier."

Veronica nodded. "Two of my babies lost... I don't know how much more I can take."

A floorboard creaked, and the two women looked up, to see Red in the doorway, hesitating and playing with the thick bracelet on her arm.

"What is it, Red?" Veronica asked, leaning forward to stand.

"Mommy Briar and Daddy Jake are still at the fort." Red said, almost inaudible. "And they've got my bed with them."

"Would you like to sleep in Bella's bed tonight?" Goldi suggested. "Just until they get home?"

"Or maybe in with Daphne and Bella?" Veronica asked, seeing the look on the girl's face.

Red nodded, and Veronica stood, pulling Goldi with her. "Come on, we'll tuck you in."

* * *

"I don't know if I can take it, Jake." Henry said, putting his head in his hands. "My baby girl..."

"And Puck." Snow said, pacing back and forth. "And Canis."

Henry, Jake, Snow, and Briar sat or stood in the command center of the fort, waiting for Charming, Robin, and the reports to come back. Snow was trying to pace the room, Briar was staring at the chicken that had been a house earlier, Henry sat on a spindly chair with his elbows on his knees, and Jake stared blankly at a silver necklace with two charms on it.

"I can't believe they snuck up on us like that." Briar said. "How were we so unprepared?"

"We were set up." Snow said, tugging Briar a little too hard as she tried to pace. "Did you notice none of them were handcuffed? The Beast planned this. I can't believe I was that _blind_!"

"No one would have expected it." Jake said, twirling the necklace around his finger. "To hear Sabrina tell it, the man's a genius."

"He is." Henry said. "That's the problem." He clenched his fist. "I knew something like this would happen if we stayed, I knew it! But she wouldn't let me leave! And now she'd kidnapped, maybe even-" He stopped, choking on his words.

"She's not dead, Henry." Jake said. "They need her."

"Three missing, two dead, fourteen injured too badly to be healed quickly, no doctors, a limited supply of potions and supplies to make more, and another twenty or so with minor injuries." Snow moaned. "Because of an accident at _my_ school. This is horrible."

"All right." Briar snapped, stopping herself and pulling Snow back with her. "I'm sick of this moping. Yes, it was horrible, yes, we're had some awful losses, and yes, we sucked!"

Everyone stared at Briar, who rarely cursed, but Jake smiled a bit, realizing what his wife was oh-so-subtly hinting at.

"I'll just come out and say it, that was horrible!" Briar told them. "But we can't just beat ourselves up about it, we have to move on! We'll find the missing ones, we'll bury our dead, we'll give them a proper burial, we'll heal the others, we'll learn from our mistakes, and we'll _move on_. You're acting like it's the end of the world, but it's not!"

"Well said, Briar." Robin's voice came from the doorway. "Now, who wants to hear the report?"


	74. Heartbreak

**AN~ I realized midway through this chapter how absolutely Bella Swan in New Moon Sabrina was being, so I stopped it a bit.**

**_Agd:_ Why was it hard to follow? I'd like to know to fix it for the future.**

* * *

"We couldn't find them." Charming said bitterly, seated at the head of the council table, as Snow had dubbed it. "Tried everything we could think of, there's even no sign of the Scarlet Hand members! All below ground, is my guess."

"Sounds likely." Snow said. "There could be caves all over this town that we don't know about."

"Did you try the mayor's mansion?" Jake asked, fingering Sabrina's necklace, on loan from Daphne.

"Of course not." Charming said bitterly. "I'm no fool."

"We didn't try to go through Mab's territory, either." Robin said. "It's almost impossible that they'd be able to hide all those people there, but I suppose they could manage it. So there's those two places and any of a theoretical million hidey holes through the whole town. Where do we even start?"

"I, for one, am going to start with the sword." Briar said practically, pulling hers out, and running her finger over the end. "Sabrina discovered a wonderful trick today. Did you know it works as a communication device?"

"I know, it's wonderful." Jake said, perking up a bit. "I want to study it... more... when... we get Sabrina back, of course." He said, seeing the look on Henry's face.

"Everyone." Briar told her sword, and each facet of her jewel lit up a different color. Briar began sifting through them, pulling one to the big facet at the top at a time, dragging them as if the stone were a touch screen phone or computer. "I can't keep track of whose is whose." She explained, not looking up. Most of the images were plain, bedroom scenes, or of the room she was in, but when she got to the green facet, she saw a black ceiling, a piece of a green sweatshirt, and a face she knew well.

"Mab." She whispered, staring at the woman who had cursed her to a hundred year's sleep.

The woman's face twisted, and a hand appeared between it and Briar's image, covering the picture. Briar breathed in a deep, shaky breath, then began shuffling facets again. When she got to the blue jewel's image, there was nothing but blackness.

"Mab has them." Briar said. "Or she was there. They took the swords, they know they're communication devices. Mab saw me."

"They're alive, then?" Snow asked.

Jake nodded. "They'd have to be. Otherwise, the Hand would have left them."

"We need a new name." Robin said. "The Scarlet Hand sounds ominous and professional, 'the Emerald Foot' just sounds goofy."

"Being serious for the moment, what are we going to do about it?" Henry asked.

"Wait." Charming said. "What more _can_ we do?"

* * *

Sabrina woke up with a killer headache. She groaned and went to rub her forehead, but found that she couldn't move her hands, and then realized that her entire body ached. Still groggy and unsure where she was, she opened her eyes, preparing to yell at Puck for whatever he'd done to her this time.

But when she saw where she was, she realized that something serious was going on.

For one thing, she was in no place she'd ever seen before: a windowless gray room, dimly lit from an indiscernible source, built of gray stone, with darker gray facets that- confound it all, she couldn't focus on them, because her tunnel vision had come back. But they looked like torture devices and chains, from what she could see without moving.

Second, her arms were suspended above her head, and her feet weren't touching the floor. It was very uncomfortable, and emphasized the fact that her whole body ached.

She worked up the courage and strength to move her head and looked up, getting a proper view of the room for the first time.

There were three other people there, and, when she was able to focus on them, she saw, on the wall with her, Mr. Canis, looking oddly fuzzy, even with her blurred vision, Peter Pan, and Puck. They, too, were attached to the wall by metal bars that hung them by their wrists. They all touched the floor and then some, though, and Sabrina felt a wave of irritation at her height despite the situation.

"Well, good morning, sunshine." Puck's voice wormed its way into her ears and beat itself against her skull. "Did we have a nice beauty rest? Goodness knows you needed it."

Sabrina groaned. "Thanks. I just love it when you compliment me, Puck. You just have this way with words."

"I know." Puck smirked. "It's a gift."

"How long have I been out?" Sabrina asked, not up for a verbal sparring match at the moment.

"Hard to keep track of time down here, but I'd say about five hours, wouldn't you?" Peter asked Mr. Clay.

The old man shook his head, shedding dark brown hairs. "You fell asleep, it's been closer to twelve hours."

"Did everyone get home safely?" Sabrina asked Mr. Clay. "Did it work?"

"Wonderfully, child." Mr. Clay said. "Everyone got back to the fort except you and me."

"What were you _thinking_, Grimm?" Puck cut in. "He told me what you did, how could you be that _stupid_?"

"I was thinking that I had to get everyone else home safe!" Sabrina snapped. "It was either me or everyone, and I know my priorities! What would you have done?"

"I don't know what I'd have done, 'cause I wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place!" Puck said, raising his voice. "I can't believe you'd put yourself in that much danger!"

"Well, I'm sorry for caring." Sabrina said. "Maybe if you'd _been_ there, I wouldn't have had to do it by myself."

"Oh, sure, pull that card." Puck sneered. "I'd have loved to be there, but I was kind of in the middle of being kidnapped! Nice to know how much you noticed."

"I looked for you!" Sabrina said. "I figured you were just hiding from Bella, though, and I had my hands full keeping my sister and our best friends from dying!"

"Children!" Mr. Clay interrupted. "Now is not the time. Please, _please_ don't argue."

"Sorry." Sabrina said, not really meaning it. "So anybody try to escape?"

"No, we've just been sitting here waiting for you to get started." Puck rolled his eyes. "Of course we have."

"The wrist-bar things are spelled." Peter explained. "Don't-"

But it was too late. Sabrina was already trying to rewind time. She stopped when her cuffs glowed red, saying, "_Ow_!"

"They're anti-magic." Mr. Clay said morosely. "Any magic you do- which you shouldnt' be doing anyway, in your state- will set them off. The stronger the spell, the worse the reaction."

"It's why he's still fuzzy." Peter supplied. "Changed halfway before they got him in here."

"So... why am I...?" Sabrina trailed off, unable to finish her train of thought.

"Why are you what, child?" Mr. Clay prompted.

"Vision..." Sabrina said, the words not coming right, "It's... ring, black, seeing... bleah. You know what I mean?"

"I think you should go back to bed, 'cause that made no sense." Puck said.

"Your tunnel vision is back?" Mr. Clay asked, and Sabrina nodded.

"It's been almost always gone except when I'm seeing something." She explained. "Hey, does this thing keep me from having my mental block up?"

"I don't believe so." Mr. Clay said. "Otherwise, you'd be doing magic all the time, yes? I presume it just prevents active magic."

A door creaked open, and they all turned their heads to see who was coming in.

Mab, Mayor Heart, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Moth walked into the room, sneering at the four others.

"Hello, prisoners." Mayor Heart said, nose in the air.

"Come to gloat?" Mr. Clay asked, his voice emotionless.

"Actually, we've come with an offer for you." Mab said, and she sounded remarkably conversational, as if they were simply sitting in her living room.

"It wasn't our idea, of course." Nottingham cut in, sneering. "If I had my way, you'd all be dead now."

"So what is it?" Peter asked, cutting Nottingham off before he could really get ranting.

"We'd like to offer you a place in the Scarlet Hand." Mab said. "We'd be willing to forgive your past... opinions, were you to take us up on this. Think about it. It's a once in a lifetime offer."

"Never." Sabrina spat.

"Don't decide now." Mab suggested. "Think on it. We'll come back later."

She turned to leave, and the others followed, but Moth paused by Puck, running her hand across his face in an extremely tender gesture before walking to the door.

With her hand on the door, she turned to Sabrina and said, "How does it feel, now the shoe's on the other foot?" She flounced out, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm not doing it." Peter said. "They're just offering me this position 'cause I'm with you. I don't have anything important to give them."

"It's tempting, though." Sabrina said. "Save my family and stuff, you know? But... I could never be on the same side as Moth."

"I know where I stand." Mr. Clay said. "And it's not with them. Your Grandmother has done too much for me."

"Then it's settled." Peter said.

Puck, though, said nothing and wore a thoughtful expression, something very unusual for him.

They were silent for the rest of the time, Sabrina trying to fall asleep despite her aching body, and the others lost in their thoughts. She'd just begun to nod off when the door opened again.

"Well?" Moth asked, walking up to Sabrina. "Have you made your decision?"

"I told your mother already." Sabrina said. "Don't make me repeat it."

Moth smiled a little, and moved on to Mr. Clay. "And you, wolfman?"

"No." Mr. Clay growled.

Moth nodded with a sneer and moved on to Peter. "Don't suppose you'd consider?" She asked him.

"And have to hang out with _you_?" Peter asked, eyes wide. "I don't think so."

Moth glared at him for a second, then moved to Puck, and her expression softened. She caressed his hair and said, "Well, Puck? Think about it. Freedom from this little town and all your responsibility, the ability to live your life just as you like it, no more helpless children bothering you, my eternal affection..." She batted her eyelashes. "Will you join us?"

Puck looked at Moth, then up at Sabrina, and the look in his eyes made Sabrina's heart stop beating for a minute. It was a look of sorrow, regret, determination, and apology, and when she saw it, she knew his answer before he spoke it:

"Yes."

And Sabrina's heart broke.

* * *

Puck had been released from his wrist-bar, and Moth had produced the key to his handcuffs from someplace unknown, and they'd left together, Moth's hand already searching out Puck's.

Neither Mr. Clay nor Peter had said anything since the door had shut behind them, not that Sabrina would have noticed even if they had. She was too lost in this ultimate betrayal, too anguished. It almost hurt physically, that was how bad Puck had wounded her. It was as if he had stabbed her with a blunt, rusty knife and twisted.

After a time, though, the world around her started to peter back in, though they sounded very far away.

"What's wrong with her?" Peter asked, voice hushed.

"Heartbreak." Mr. Clay's voice wormed its way in through her fog.

"But I never thought..." Peter said. "I mean, Sabrina's so strong. I never thought something like this would have so much of an effect."

"It could be the straw that broke the camel's back." Mr. Clay suggested, "One betrayal too many. Or she could care about him more than any of us realized."

_I can hear you, you know._ Sabrina wanted to say. _I'm not deaf_.

But it was too much effort to open her mouth... or it was too much effort to keep it closed, and she knew that if she opened it, she'd scream, loudly and horrifically.

It was pain, and it was numbness, all at the same time. She hurt tremendously, but already she could feel nothingness setting in, her body deciding that this was too much to take in, and putting her into a state of shock to protect her.

So she fell asleep, and dreamed herself away from the horror of what Puck had done to her.

"Will she be OK, do you think?" Peter asked, looking at Sabrina with worry in his eyes.

"Oh, I have no doubt she will." Mr. Clay said. "It may take time, though. It's quite a shock. I never thought Puck would join the Hand."

"None of us did." Peter said. "I mean, Sabrina, for one thing, and Moth for another, but... wow. I just can't believe it."

"I suppose this means you're enemies again." Mr. Clay said."

"And there's that, too!" Peter said. "Here I was thinking maybe we could be friends, and then he pulls this! What was he thinking?"

"Perhaps it all got to be too much." Mr. Clay suggested. "And he simply couldn't see another way out."

"None of the rest of us did it." Peter pointed out. "Why did he?"

"I don't pretend to understand." Mr. Clay said sadly.

* * *

"Of course you know we won't trust you right away, Puck." Mab said.

Puck nodded. "That'd just be stupid."

"So we're going to devise a series of tests to prove your loyalty." Mab said, then turned to the other Scarlet Hand members in the room. "And until then, I want a guard on him 24/7. Any volunteers?"

"Oh, I'll do it, Mother!" Moth exclaimed, bouncing a bit. "Let me, let me!"

Mab sighed a little. "Of course, Moth. Now please control yourself, you're making a scene."

"Why are you telling me this?" Puck asked. "Shouldn't I be talking to the Master?"

Mab laughed, once and cruelly. "The Master only reveals himself to his most trusted associates. You aren't one of those. He prefers to deal with new recruits through a third party until he knows he can trust them."

"Oh." Puck said, subdued. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Come on, I'll show you around, darling." Moth smiled at him in a way that was probably supposed to be seductive.

"Not everywhere, of course." Mab reminded her daughter sharply.

"Of course not." Moth said. "I'm not an imbecile."

Puck followed Moth out of the huge room, and, as soon as the door shut behind them, rolled his eyes, because a loud babble of indistinguishable words had broken out. They could have just _said_ they wanted to talk about him.

Moth grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "I'll show you to your room. It's right next to mine." She smiled at him.

Puck let himself be pulled along mutely, taking note of everything he passed. Mab's house was beautiful, and enormous.

"Here we are." Moth said, opening a door. "It's one of the guest rooms, but It's right near my bedroom, so we can visit each other if you want."

Puck ignored that, going to sit on the small bed in the plain room. "So do you have any idea what these loyalty tests are going to be like?" He asked.

"Oh, the usual thing." Moth said casually, sitting on the bed next to Puck. "Showing that you put your new allies at a higher priority than your old friends, doing something dangerous for the Master, that sort of stuff."

"Fun..." Puck said. "Not Mustardseed though, right? I won't have to betray my brother or anything?"

"I don't know, but the Master will probably pick the person he thinks you have the strongest tie to." Moth said. "Who isn't in the Scarlet Hand, obviously."

Puck didn't say anything for a while, digesting the information.

"So..." Moth said. "Are you going to tell me why you switched sides?"

"I don't think so." Puck said. "Because you're going to report everything you hear back to your mother, and I don't want that."

"I won't, actually." Moth said, and she leaned in very close to Puck's face. "Because I want you to be accepted as part of the Scarlet Hand as soon as possible. You see, mother won't let us get married until she trusts you. So I am going to make sure she trusts you as soon as possible."

"Listen, Moth, just 'cause I left the Emerald Foot doesn't mean I'm automatically in love with you." Puck pointed out.

"Of course not." Moth said sweetly, standing and walking to the door. "Yet."

She shut the door behind her, and Puck rolled his eyes. Whatever else you could say about Moth, she did know how to make a dramatic exit.


	75. Behind Enemy Lines

**AN~**

**_Booklover4ever:_ Another you-guessed-it! ...Kind of... I'll be going back and fixing the confusion, I don't know how it got that messed up...  
**

**_Puckabrina-percabeth-fax101:_ I may disappoint you in my creativity as a writer here... But thanks bunches!**

_**Quinn Fabray:**_** Sorry for the wait, I lost internet connection for four days 'cause of the freak snowstorm we had in my area. Five inches of snow! In October! **

**_Admirer:_ Wow. Thank you very _very_ much. Can I hug you? Would that be too forward?**

_**():**_** Pray tell, how do you know it's boring if you haven't read it? How much _have_ you read, just out of curiosity? I'm not thirty-something, either. Are you going to keep going up? 'Cause if you are, you'll be wrong. Consistently. I notice you didn't mention what's so wrong with my style. Are you going to explain? Know what's funny? Ayns and Sky's story is actually over twice as long as mine. Oh, and by the way, your review number was cool, so you win a prize. Other than me quitting, what would you like?**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** You guessed it! (Nobody read that review)**

_**PinkAndBlack:**_** Thanks! It's all good, I get it. Glad you're back!**

_**Aly:**_** I love Puck, too. I _know_ what I'm doing. I'm not sure you're going to keep reading, and that's fine, but if you _are_ here, well, you could maybe trust me a bit, 'kay? Also, if you're here, you're prizewinner for review number 999.**

_**RRB:**_** It hurt a bit to write that. But it had to be done. Thanks for the review of epic proportions! I appreciated it! :D**

_**Agd:**_** Yeah, I'll fix that when I edit. The last two chapters need a lot of editing, 'cause I've gotten a lot of confused feedback.**

_**ANannyMouse: **_**Chapter 76: She put the barrier around the battle so the Scarlet Hand couldn't get out. I'll have to clarify that. Chapter 77: Yes, you get it! You know what Puck's up to! :D You caught the important line!**

* * *

Time passed slowly in the dungeon. The only way to mark how long it had been since something happened was when they were fed, which, as near as Sabrina could figure, happened about once a day.

She went through three mood phases at random intervals: Anguish, when she sometimes cried and sometimes just hurt; Numbness, when she didn't do anything; and anger.

She was in one of the angry moods when Moth showed up. It could have been two days since she'd left, or it could have been two weeks, Sabrina wasn't sure.

"Hello, prisoner." Moth said, wearing an angry smile.

"Hello, scum of the earth." Sabrina hissed.

"No need to be so nasty." Moth tutted.

"Why are you here?" Sabrina asked.

"Simply to-"

"Gloat?" Peter suggested. "Don't, we have to deal with her after you're gone."

"I haven't, actually." Moth said. "I've come to alert you that we're going to be performing some tests on Sabrina in the future. The rest of you... we understand your magic. But some of our more scientific members want to know how Sabrina works."

"Well, great." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I just love tests."

"I'm trying to be nice, here." Moth said, sticking her nose in the air.

"Stuff it." Sabrina said.

"Fine, be that way." Moth said. "Simply because Puck chose me over you-"

Sabrina spat in her face.

Moth gasped. "Ooh, you'll regret that, child!" She hissed. "Believe me, you will."

She stalked out, slamming the door behind her.

"Notice they never seem to lock it?" Peter asked.

"Probably magic auto-lock or something." Sabrina said. "Mab's rich enough."

"You worried?" Peter asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "No biggie. Maybe it'll give me a chance to escape."

"I doubt it, but if it comes, take it, child." Mr. Clay said. "And never look back."

"I'll bring people back for you." Sabrina promised. "As soon as possible."

"That'd be nice." Peter said. "It's kind of boring down here."

Mr. Clay and Sabrina smiled grimly, which, while not the laugh he'd been hoping for, was still an improvement.

* * *

"I miss Sabrina." Daphne said. "And Puck."

"We all do." Art said.

They were in study group, which had been remarkably subdued since the ambush, partly because Snow had required that there be professional teacher supervision at all times, to prevent something like that from happening again. Nobody was even allowed to go to the bathroom without checking in and out of the library.

Red fingered the cuff that was still on her wrist. The Beast had told her that he couldn't take it off until she'd completed the assignment. She felt extraordinarily guilty that she'd let Sabrina free her, and she couldn't believe that it had been a week and a half and there was still no sign of them. She'd retreated back into her shell, barely speaking a word to anyone since the battle.

Mustardseed stood in the corner of the room, alone and aloof. He'd been leading the search for the missing four, and was rarely at school, let alone study group, and when he _was_ there, he usually stayed a bit away from everyone else, a brooding look on his face.

It had made Renee realize that she missed him. That she missed him more than Puck, actually. He was a solid presence, a constant she hadn't appreciated until she'd lost it.

She made her way from the table she'd been working at with Daphne and Art, among others, to Mustardseed's lonesome corner.

"Hi." Renee said, leaning on the wall next to Mustardseed.

"Oh, hello." Mustardseed said, looking up in surprise.

"How've you been?" Renee asked. "Haven't seen much of you recently."

"I've been busy." Mustardseed said.

"Any sign of them?" Renee asked sympathetically.

Mustardseed shook his head. "They may as well have fallen off the face of the earth."

"You should take a break." Renee said. "You're wearing yourself out."

"I have to find them, though." Mustardseed said. "I'd think you'd be looking just as hard for Puck as I am."

"I don't miss him like that." Renee said. "I don't know what happened, but... I don't like him that way anymore. I mean, yeah, I want him back, but I'm worried about the others just as much."

"Really?" Mustardseed asked, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face for a second. "Well, that's... You're too good for him, anyway. I've always thought that."

"Do you need a hand, though?" Renee asked. "Looking for him, I mean? You're looking pretty worn down."

Mustardseed shook his head, turning to look out the window. "There's simply no trace of them."

"Hey." Renee put her hand over his. "Don't give up. They'll be OK. They're... resourceful."

Mustardseed looked down at the hand over his and smiled, a real one this time. Renee smiled back, and the two stood there in silent understanding.

* * *

"Your first test is coming soon." Moth said one day.

The two were sitting in Puck's room, which was still quite bland, as he hadn't been allowed to leave the building to do anything. Puck had been putting up with Moth's presence because he knew it was necessary to gain their trust, but she was really starting to get on his nerves. He'd started driving her away with chess games. If he won often enough, she'd storm out of the room and leave him alone for a blessed few hours.

He shoved a pawn forward and said, "Oh, good. It's been ages."

Moth moved her queen to take the pawn and said, "Check. Maybe they've been trying to think up something good."

"Well, do you know what it is?" Puck asked, taking her queen with his knight and adding, "Check yourself. And mate."

"No, but I'm to take you to the observation room." Moth said. "In a few hours. Play again?"

"Sure." Puck said, and he began setting the board back up. "You can be white this time."

Moth began setting he pieces back up, too, and said, "So... I've been thinking... about what you said, about us not getting married?"

"Yeah?" Puck asked warily, putting his last few pawns back on the board.

"Well, does your... reluctance... have anything to do with the girl?"

"Sabrina?' Puck supplied. "Your move."

"Yes, her, and let me finish setting up first!" Moth snapped. "Well? Are you still engaged?"

"Depends." Puck said. "Is she still wearing my necklace?"

"I hadn't noticed." Moth said, standing. "Excuse me."

Puck rolled his eyes as she ran out of the room, again grateful for the alone time. It was so hard to be watched all the time, especially by someone like Moth. What if he slipped up? She'd be sure to make him buy her silence with something disgusting, like a kiss. He _needed_ them to trust him, and fast.

Moth returned about fifteen minutes later, looking triumphant but angry. "She spit on me!" She snapped. "Can you believe it? She had the audacity to spit on _me_!"

"She's weird like that." Puck said, absent-minded. He calculated mentally: fifteen minutes means no more than seven minutes there and back, running, because there wasn't enough space to fly in these hallways, but Moth had time to be spit on, which meant time to gloat, and time to get into the dungeon, which meant at least five minutes there, which meant he was within five minutes of the dungeon, running, which meant less than ten minutes walking. And without windows meant probably in the center of the building somewhere, like his room, or in the basement, because a room without windows would stand out from the outside.

"But she's not wearing the necklace!" Moth said with a smile. "And she must have taken it off before she got here, because it's not in the dungeon."

Puck hid a stab of sorrow and said, "Well, then. It looks like I'm marrying you after all."

"Oh, but Pucky..." Moth said, "Do you really want to, or are you doing it because you're forced to?"

Puck blinked at her. "Forced, duh. Marriage means responsibility. I hate responsibility."

"But I want you to _want_ to." Moth said. "Tell you what. Would you like to cancel the blood oath? We have enough time, before we'll have to head to mother."

"Sure." Puck said. "But I don't think I'll ever want to marry you."

"You say that now..." Moth said, smiling in a way that made Puck nervous. "But I have my ways."

Puck looked at her skeptically, but stood. "Come on, let's get this done."

They undid the blood oath, which was a much longer and more complex process that Puck didn't want to ever have to think about again, and finished just in time to leave the room and head to the observation room.

Puck counted doors as he walked, making a mental note of which ones stood open and which weren't, thanking his math teacher for everything he'd been taught, and his mother for his analytical brain, even though she'd hated it.

"We're here." Moth said, opening another door.

Ten minutes and two up staircases in this direction, thirty-nine options. Puck steeled himself a little and walked into the room. Moth followed, closing the door behind him.

"Welcome." Mab said. "Are you ready for your first test?"

"Absolutely." Puck said. "What is it?"

"Have a look." Mab stepped to the side.

"Whoa." Puck said, walking forward a few steps in awe.

The room was absolutely full of mirrors, and each one, instead of showing Puck's reflection, showed a picture of a different room in Mab's mansion. Puck started doing more mental calculations. They were set up in an order, they had to be. So... bottom row would be basement, probably, and top row would be the top floor. That made sense, because the size of the mansion was about right for the number of mirrors on the walls. But how did they get the center-of-the-building rooms, then?

Before he could figure it out, Mab muttered something, and one image from the bottom row- basement, he noted- grew to fill the entire room, and all the mirrors in it.

"This is the dungeon." Mab said. "Specifically, the dungeon where your friends are being stored."

"Former allies, thank you." Puck corrected, looking with interest at the 360-degree view of the room. It was almost as if they were there, except he could see the slight sheen of reflected light on it, and it was much too small. "This is amazing! How do you do it?"

"Perhaps you'll be informed, once we're certain of your loyalty." Mab said. "Let's just say we're on good terms with someone who knows mirrors intimately."

"Sure." Puck said, still turning and staring, wide-eyed. "So what's my test?"

"Just... look." Mab said.

Puck blinked at her, his face saying that that was what he had been doing, thank you very much.

"At your companions." Mab clarified.

Puck turned to Peter and stared for a minute. "All right, so?"

"Turn." Mab said.

Puck sighed, and spun to see Sabrina and Mr. Clay. Neither of them looked good. In fact, they looked worse than Peter. Mr. Clay was turned to look at Sabrina, and his mouth was moving as if he was speaking. Knowing that he had to, he turned his head very slowly to see Sabrina's face, trying his best not to brace himself visibly.

She was crying. Tear stains traced their way down, carving tracks of cleanliness down her filthy cheeks, and there was a look of utter defeat in her puffy red eyes.

Puck concentrated hard to keep the muscles of his face relaxed- bored, almost.

"Well?" Mab asked, looking at his face a bit eagerly.

"No sound?" Puck asked, keeping his voice as unaffected as his face with much effort. Every cell in his body screamed to run to Sabrina and comfort her- or go find whoever had made her face look like that and punch their lights out. But it was his fault she was crying, and he couldn't leave. He needed to do this. He'd make it up to her. Someday.

"We can give you sound, if you like." Mab offered, then spoke again in the language Puck had never heard.

There was a brief flicker, then Sabrina's voice came in, saying "-Hate her. She's such a... I don't even *hic* know."

"Everyone does." Mr. Clay said. "Ignore her, she's just gloating."

"They deserve each other." Peter said. "He proved that."

"I-I kn-now." Sabrina said, her voice catching in her throat. "But it still h-hur-r-rts. And I f-feel like such an id-di-idiot, c-crying like thi-is."

"Don't, child, it's perfectly understandable." Mr. Clay said. "But... did you ever consider the idea that he might be faking? To get us out?"

Puck suddenly felt Moth's and Mab's eyes on him.

But Sabrina on-screen shook her head and saved him. "I s-saw his f-face, he wasn't ly-lying. I'd know-oh."

"Because you knew him so well." Peter said darkly.

"See?" Puck said, gesturing to Sabrina's reflection. "I couldn't lie to you. You can truth-test me if you want, but she can see lies. I honest to goodness am on your side now."

"Care to explain why?" Mab asked. "I want to believe you, but it's a bit... dodgy."

Puck shrugged. "They're annoying. All humans are. And I want to live, and be free, not stuck in a cell. There wasn't any way out, so it was either switch or spend the rest of forever in there. You guys have a point, anyway, so..."

"See, mother?" Moth said, hugging Puck. "He's being smart! Can we speed this up, please?"

Mab sighed. "Well, I suppose the second test could be moved to tonight. The scientists will need a few hours to prepare, of course, but they've wanted to move it forward as it is."

Moth squealed. "Truly? Oh, this is wonderful! I can't wait! Thank you, mother!" She ran out of the room, pulling Puck with her, then turned. "We're finished, yes?"

Mab sighed. "I suppose. He passed the first test." As Moth dragged Puck off, she called, "Tonight at nine! The damper room!"


	76. Dr Jekyll

**AN~ Anybody watching _Grimm_ or_ Once Upon a Time_? I am, and they're both awesome shows, but MB is right (if you follow him anyplace), and _Grimm_ is such a spinoff of The Sisters Grimm... He should sue. ...After they finish airing season 1. Once Upon a Time is similar, too, but the idea first happened about eight years ago, so...**

**_Squirrel101:_ What do you mean, complicated thoughts? I'll fix it if you explain how, but I don't really get what you're saying. :) Anyway, thanks for the review!  
**

**_Naya Lopez:_ Thanks for the encouragement. Reviews in the middle of noplace are usually what I need to keep me going when I'm stuck.  
**

**_s-rv119:_ Thanks for the review. Sorry for the long wait on the update, but I got mono, and it made me all 'I don't want to write anything'. It was quite horrible.  
**

_**ANannyMouse:**_** Puck's my favorite, too. :) I don't think it's bad that Sabrina being depressed made you feel better. That's called catharsis, and the Greeks did it all the time with their plays. You're kind of right with the suggestion. Nobody's really doing it, anyway (like, 5 people in the 2 years it's been up). But I'm quite shocked that the thing that kept you from reading was the challenge, not the length. Any NAME suggestions? 'Cause part of the reason it's still called what it is is that I have no idea what to call it...**

_**silverwombat:**_** I put in lots of hints... You can figure it out if you try.**

_**Booklover4ever:**_** It's the last straw, and she doesn't see any way out, so she's kind of blargh. I mentioned that she's not just angry, she goes through mood swings of angry, depressed, and blehhh.**

_**Purpleflower23:**_** Yeah, I couldn't do that to anyone...**

_**Alcoholic Goldfish:**_** Thanks! Glad you liked it! I realized about halfway through that I was making it quite obvious without actually saying it, and I wasn't sure that was a good move, so I'm glad it worked.**

* * *

They came for Sabrina that evening. They shoved her into a set of mobile handcuffs and ankle cuffs, released her from her wrist bar, and dragged her out of the room- kicking and screaming, she'd be quick to assure everyone.

She fought them as hard as she could, but the cuffs, too, seemed to be spelled to keep her from doing anything magical, and she was stiff from who knows how long in almost the same position, so her struggles were weaker than usual, and almost entirely ineffective- though she did manage to land a good kick on a Hobgoblin's kneecap.

"Oof." He said, buckling but not losing his grip on her. "Nice try, sweetheart. But you're just wasting your energy. Stop struggling, it'll make it easier for all of us."

"Why should I make anything easier for you?" Sabrina asked snarkily.

"So I don't break both your arms before hanging you back up, maybe?" The Hobgoblin suggested.

Sabrina shut up about then and started paying attention to her surroundings. She wanted to make sure that, if the chance came, she'd be able to find her way out.

There wasn't much to see, though. They were walking through a dim gray hallway, still lit with the same vague misty light from no distinguishable source, with nothing to break the windowless monotony but a few doors here and there... doors without handles.

"How do you open the doors?" Sabrina asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"_You_ don't." The Hobgoblin whose knee she'd kicked said. "_We_ have a password that opens them."

Sabrina shut up again, letting them drag her.

They reached a staircase eventually, and Sabrina debated making one of them lose their balance and fall down the stairs so she could make a break for it, but decided against it. They'd probably pull her with them.

So, again, she bided her time, examining the staircase- nothing interesting here, just a featureless gray set of regular nine-inch cliffs- and the hallway above- now _here_ was something fascinating. Were they in a palace of some sort?

The hallway above the dungeons was a mass of pearly marble with gold trim, carved into pillars every ten yards or so, with something that Sabrina was pretty sure was called a 'flying buttress' connecting them in the inverted, vaulted ceiling, with cherubs and sprites and vines carved into the pillars. Each section of wall was decorated with a different fresco of a group or a single fairy doing something, usually in a forest, and on the floor was a deep red carpet edged in gold that Sabrina could tell, even through her dragging sneakers, was at least two inches thick.

She fought back a feeling of inferiority and out-of-placeness, reminding herself that she was here because she'd been captured in battle. But still, she felt much more at home in the blank, gray dungeon space. At least there she could hate her surroundings in peace.

Even so, she couldn't keep from uttering a small, "Whoa."

The Hobgoblin glanced at her and chuckled. "That's right, be awed."

"Seriously?" Sabrina gave him a skeptical look. "That wasn't even funny."

He banged her head with his fist. "Yes it was. Now shut up, prisoner."

"Ow." Sabrina muttered, ducking and rubbing her head with her tied hands, glaring at the hobgoblin.

They kept walking, Sabrina trying not to look like she was awed at the surroundings, and the guards pulling her along roughly. They climbed two more staircases and passed more doors than Sabina could keep track of before thie finally reached a very ominous looking black door. The hobgoblin opened it and shoved Sabrina inside, slamming the door behind her.

She stumbled, falling to her knees because her bound ankles made it hard for her to catch her balance. She picked herself up off the floor, and, not looking up yet, reached up to brush her hair out of her face.

When she did, she saw a room built out of something shiny and cream-colored, with designs worked into it in a color that blended with the walls unless you were looking at it at the right angle. It could have been crazy wallpaper if it wasn't so smooth, and the floor and ceiling weren't made of the same material. There were a whole bunch of strange instruments sitting on what looked like an operating table, and around the table stood a group of people, one of whom was Puck.

Sabrina immediately wished she hadn't looked around.

"Welcome, Sabrina." Mab said, smiling.

Sabrina glowered at her and asked coldly, "What am I doing here?"

"Why, I thought Moth had told you." Mab said, miming surprise. "We're going to test your powers."

Sabrina blinked at Mab a few times, then looked pointedly down at her handcuffs without saying anything. Someone snickered.

"Ah, well, we couldn't have you doing anything in the hallway, could we?" Mab asked, and Sabrina could hear the smile in her voice without looking up. "In this room, though, you can do whatever you want, and no harm will come to anyone."

A man came forward, holding a key, and unlocked Sabrina's handcuffs, catching them before they hit the ground.

Sabrina whipped her hands up and, staring at the man, shoved a fireball at his chest, not caring if she killed him, for once. After all, she didn't even know who he was.

But nothing happened. Sabrina stared, panting, as the fireball hit his chest and simply went out. Once she could see clearly again, she saw that the same symbols on the walls were tracing their way through his clothes. She cursed quietly.

The man growled and shoved her down. "Don't try that again, girl." He said, his face twisting.

He walked off, back to the table, and Sabrina found herself on the floor again, pushing her hair out of her face. The people at the table were bustling around, messing with instruments, and nobody was paying attention to her.

"I need to get a haircut." Sabrina muttered to herself. "Or a scrunchie."

She heard a chuckle, and a hand reached down to help her up. She took it cautiously, and, standing, found herself looking into a familiar chest, though it, too, was clad in the creamy, shiny cloth. She snatched her hand back, glaring up into Puck's face.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Helping you up." Puck said, eyebrows raised. "Mab wants you at the table, and you didn't look like you were going to move anytime soon, so she sent me to get you."

"Well, I don't need your help." Sabrina spat. "I'm not going to go over there, anyway."

Puck sighed and said, "Look, Grimm, just... do what they want you to... Please? Don't cause trouble."

"What do you care?" Sabrina snapped. "You're on their side now, remember?"

Puck's face almost looked hurt for a second, but that could have been wishful thinking on Sabrina's part. "Just... do it, OK?" He said. "That's Dr. Jekyll over there, and he's not somebody you want to mess with."

"Whatever." Sabrina said, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. But she stalked over to the table anyway, head held high. She looked rather like a cat, body language saying 'I'm doing this because _I_ want to, not because you told me to.'

Puck shook his head and followed her. It was no more than he deserved, after all.

"Have a seat." Mab directed Sabrina once she'd reached the table, her voice all business.

Sabrina raised her eyebrows but sat on the clear spot in the middle of the table. "Don't you already know some of how this works?" She asked. "I mean, Moth kind of stole my body a few months ago, didn't she tell you anything about how my powers work?"

"Ah, but we're more interested in the ones you _didn't_ explain to me." Moth said wisely.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, then turned expectantly to Mab and Dr. Jekyll, who were obviously in charge.

"What can you do?" Dr. Jekyll asked, holding a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other, looking at her over a pair of glasses.

"Lots of stuff." Sabrina said vaguely.

Puck sighed and said, "She can tell when people are lying, create and mess with magical barriers, see the past, travel astrally, and control time, the weather, and gravity. I think that's it."

"Traitor." Sabrina muttered.

Dr. Jekyll had scribbled this list down in his notebook and was now looking up at Mab. "Right." He said. "We'll start with the lies, then, shall we?"

Mab frowned. "That one seems a bit ambiguous, doesn't it? How will we know whether or not she's using it, and how?"

"Oh, haven't I shown you?" Dr. Jekyll asked, picking up a device. "This will give us a readout of her brain, and I can calibrate it to show us whatever I want: thoughts, sight, sound... It's quite ingenious, if I do say so myself."

"Quite." Mab agreed, looking impressed. "You and your inventions..."

Dr. Jekyll looked at his assistants, card soldiers for the most part. "Well?' He asked. "Hook it up to her!"

The contraption, which looked kind of like a series of suction cups attached to what appeared to be a sieve crossed with a piece of chain link fence, was quickly fitted to Sabrina's unresisting and resigned-looking head on one end and affixed to a projector (also made of the shiny cream-colored stuff) on the other.

Dr. Jekyll fiddled with a few knobs on the side of Sabrina's head, then sat back. "I've set it to visual, sound, and thought." He explained. "Now, I suggest we each tell two truths and a lie. Watch her face while you talk, and the screen while the others speak."

Sabrina herself turned to watch the screen, worried about what would show up. A picture of the screen itself flashed back at her, and along the bottom scrolled a quick feed of words, which looked vaguely like this:

_"I hope this doesn't hurt. I wonder what- Oh, that's what it does. This is embarrassing. All right, I'm not really thinking in words like this, what is up here? This looks stupid. This invention is stupid. Well, not really. It's kind of cool. But the thoughts thing is stupid."_

"Puck, do you know anything about how this works?" Dr. Jekyll asked, looking at the screen in boredom. "Her ability to tell when one is lying?"

"Dunno." Puck shrugged. "People just say something, and she knows it's a lie."

"All right, we'll have her look to start off." Dr. Jekyll said. "It may be that she hears the lie in the voice, or that she sees it in the face, so just in case, girl, turn to Moth."

Sabrina turned to Moth, and the screen flashed, _"This'll be good."_

Moth cleared her throat, then asked, "Do I make it obvious? The lies, I mean?"

"Of course not." Mab snapped.

"Right." Moth said. "Pink is not my favorite color. Blue is not my favorite color. Green is not my favorite color."

When Moth said the first sentence, her face flashed red in Sabrina's vision, and, thus, on the screen.

"It's visual, then." Dr. Jekyll said, satisfied, leaning forward to adjust the knobs on Sabrina's headgear again. "I can turn off the audio, then..."

"Is that really what my voice sounds like?" Moth asked, worried.

"Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like." Dr. Jekyll said absently. "Mab, your turn."

Mab smiled. "I don't want to hurt you, Sabrina. Truly, I have no grudge against your family, in fact, if you weren't human, I think I'd like you quite a bit."

Mab's face lit up in red when she said the second piece of her sentence, and Sabrina raised an eyebrow. Across the screen ran: _"My uncle's married to the woman you tried to kill. Did you think I'd fall for that even if I _couldn't_ tell when you were lying?"_

Dr. Jekyll smirked. "Well, I think that's enough. I may want to perform more tests later to see if we can replicate this, but truth spells are just as easy to come by as this. It's interesting, but in no way unique."

_"Thank you." _Scrolled across the projector. _"I absolutely love it when people tell me I'm not unique. Can we get going? I have a dungeon to get back to. At least people there are friendly."_

Someone chuckled, but Dr. Jekyll sent a glare around and whoever it was stopped. He fiddled with Sabrina's headgear again and said, "Next, I think we should take a look at this past-prophesying thing she does. It seems much more fascinating. I don't believe I've ever heard of such a thing."

His voice echoed a bit, coming out of the projector as well as his mouth.

Sabrina blinked at him. "Did you turn the sound back on? 'Cause I don't really hear it that much..."

"Ah, you've decided to be helpful." Mab said cheerfully. "Good."

Sabrina snorted. "That's a laugh. I'm just trying to make this go as fast as possible."

Dr. Jekyll fiddled with the knobs again, and the echoes stopped.

"Now, how does it work?" Dr. Jekyll asked. "Does anyone know? Moth? Puck?"

Puck shrugged. "She stares at things and sometimes her eyes go black and then she just phases out for a while, then they go back to normal and I guess that's how it happens. I don't know how she stops it or starts it or keeps it going."

"I don't believe there's a lot of control involved." Moth said. "In what she sees, at least. I get the feeling it's whatever someone is close to, sort of, or what they're thinking about. But... when I was in her body, I would get it from inanimate objects, too, so..."

"How did you start it?" Mab asked. "Or was there a catalyst?"

Moth shook her head, leaning on the wall. "I might have figured it out if I was in her body for longer, but I left too quickly."

"Some help you are." The three of diamonds muttered.

Moth sneered at him.

Sabrina, watching, got a sudden image of Moth in a heavy crimson dress and silver jewelry, sneering at a young man dressed in gold-trimmed robes. Her mouth moved, and Sabrina could imagine her saying, 'A mere duke? As my suitor? How dare you?'

She blinked and Moth was back in her purple floaty sundress. Sabrina was struck by just how inappropriate that outfit was for November... if it was still November. Maybe it was April and she'd been in the dungeon for months.

"_Fascinating._." Dr. Jekyll said. "Moth, were you thinking about that?"

Moth blinked. "I'm sorry, I missed it. What happened?"

"It was the time you dismissed the Duke of Orange, dear." Mab said.

"Oh." Moth said. "No."

"But the pose was remarkably similar..." Dr. Jekyll mused. "I wonder if it's more physical memory than actual memory. Do it again." He demanded Sabrina.

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "I can't just _do it_. It comes and goes."

"Well, how do I get it to come?" Dr. Jekyll asked, scowling. His face started to change, growing darker and more lined.

He advanced on Sabrina. "Make it work!" He snapped.

Sabrina stared at him, horrified. He was going to kill her, or something, she just knew it! And there was no way for her to make it work.

"Stop it, Jekyll!" Mab snapped. "This is ridiculous!"

But he kept leaning in, slowly, with a hideous expression on his face. Sabrina looked around desperately for a way out, and saw, to her astonishment, that Puck was kissing Moth.

Her vision blacked out, and she was taken back to a time, two years ago (almost exactly), when Puck had done the same thing to her. The vision forced itself on her more suddenly than most, and she gasped, her entire body shuddering.

Dr. Jekyll saw what she was doing and turned to the screen, excited, his face shifting quickly back to its normal visage. "Much better." He said, satisfied. "I'll want to study this more intensely later, but for now... gravity."

But Sabrina was locked in the vision, and nothing they tried would shake her out of it.


	77. Not Such a Bad Guy, After All

**AN~ **

**_Agd:_ I wasn't sure whether Dr. Jekyll would count as an everafter, but The Wizard of Oz was written in 1900 and it's considered a fairy tale, so I figured I could get away with it. And I couldn't think of any other scientists. You're right, and if there had been _anyone_ else I could use, I would have, because I had the same doubts as you for him.  
**

**_silverwombat:_ Thanks! And don't apologize. If you're not getting it, it means _I_ did something wrong, not you.  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Puck was kissing Moth because... you actually guessed it. And Dr. Jekyll was a tough decision for me, I mean, I needed a scientist everafter, so it was either Dr. Jekyll or Dr. Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll seemed creepier. You're making sense with the challenge thing. I just... have no idea what to name it. At all. Nothing really makes sense. So any suggestions will help.  
**

**_Purpleflower23: _What do you think of those shows? I'm quite enjoying them. And you're welcome :) Romance may be building from this point, but I make no promises.  
**

**_squrriel101:_ I'll try to make it easier to read when I edit that chapter. Thanks! :)**

* * *

Puck watched Sabrina get carried out of the room with mixed feelings. It was partly his fault, after all, what with the stunt he'd pulled, but at least she was safe from Dr. Jekyll now. And what else was he supposed to do? He'd needed a way to force Sabrina into a flashback, and that was the only thing he thought would do it.

"It's interesting in that it appears to actually _be_ sight." Dr. Jekyll was saying to Mab. "I thought that it might be a memory, of sorts, but she actually _sees_ the past. Her eyes are looking not directly in time, but backwards. It's absolutely fascinating."

"Yes, I'm sure." Mab said, distracted. "Moth, Puck, we're done here for now, you can go if you wish. Continue your business from earlier, if you wish."

"Yes, mother." Moth said, pulling Puck out of the room.

Puck followed reluctantly. What he wanted to do was wash his mouth many times over, to get the cooties off of it, not 'continue his business'! And, speaking of washing... "Moth." He said suddenly. "I've been thinking, about the watch room."

"What about it?" Moth asked, stopping in the hallway to lean on a wall.

"Well, are there ways to spy in _every_ room?" He asked. "Like, the bathrooms, too? 'Cause that's creepy..."

"Oh, none in the bathrooms." Moth said. "But there's one in your bedroom, and mother has the bathrooms you use searched in case you're using them for something spy-like. I mean, flushing messages down the toilet or something."

"That would be a great idea!" Puck said excitedly, then, seeing Moth's face, continued, "If... I. Were. Not a loyal member of the Scarlet Hand, which I totally am."

"Right." Moth said skeptically. "Listen, Puck, what was that? In there?"

Puck sighed. "Um... you'd be talking about that kiss, right?"

"Of course." Moth said. "What else would I be talking about?"

Puck shook his head. "Nothing. Knowing you, anyway..."

He started walking again, testing himself to see if he could find his own way back to his bedroom, and Moth followed.

After a while, when Puck had thought up a good enough lie, he said, "I did it 'cause I needed a distraction." There, that was the truth, Maybe not a distraction for_ him_, but... "I couldn't watch that anymore, I've spent too long rescuing the Grimms; it's almost a gut reaction anymore. And you were there, and I needed to stop myself from doing something to Jekyll, and a way to remind myself which side I'm on."

"Oh." Moth said, and she sounded, oddly, a bit sad. "That makes sense, I guess. I mean, I was hoping... but. Well. Anyway, we're back at your room."

Puck stopped himself from saying 'I know,' and turned to the girl. If she wasn't so evil, he'd almost feel bad for her. He quirked a half smile. "You up for another round of chess? Make it an even fifty?"

Moth shook her head. "No. Besides, I have school tomorrow. I have to get up early to prepare."

"Don't suppose I can come, too." Puck said wistfully. He missed math, partly, but, more than anything, he wanted to get out of Mab's castle, to see the sky again.

Moth shook her head. "Mother says not until you've proven yourself, and the Master has decided which side she wants you to act like you're on. "

"Yeah." Puck said. "I figured." He put his hand on the door, then turned to Moth awkwardly and said, "Well, 'night."

"Goodnight." Moth said, her voice quiet and a bit forlorn as Puck closed the door on her.

Shaking his head to clear it- stupid puberty virus- Puck waited for fifteen minutes, making sure Moth had left, then made a big show of getting ready for bed and going to sleep. Let them wonder why he was going to bed early, it was better than whatever else they could be wondering about. Once he'd turned off the light, he slipped a piece of paper out from under his pillow and under his blankets, which were heavy enough that the small flashlight he'd smuggled in didn't show through.

He'd begun drawing a diagram of the house, as much of it as he'd seen, centered around his bedroom, and he was adding to it. Moth didn't know he'd been counting rooms, or that he was learning his way around much faster than he should have been able to. And nobody knew that he was exploring and marking down everything he saw as he went. All those physics classes, combined with Sabrina's architect's paper present, were letting him draw a fairly accurate copy of the building plan, though it had some huge gaps.

As soon as he'd won Mab's trust, he would pin down the location of the dungeon, sneak there during... dinner, probably, or some other time when most people were out of the way, and then... well, he'd figure that out when he got there.

Speaking of which, Sabrina had seemed... she'd seemed like she believed it! Either she was a better actor than he'd given her credit for, or he was, because she'd seemed genuinely hateful of him. Or at least that's what the projector on Dr. Jekyll's machine had shown.

That man... He was bad news. About as unstable as the Mad Hatter, combined with someone as dangerous as Bluebeard... and he wasn't even crazy, he just switched over, mostly when he got angry. Puck had been afraid of what he'd do to Sabrina if she couldn't give him what he wanted.

So he'd done the best thing he could think of. And now Moth was looking like a lost puppy, Sabrina was probably even more angry with him than before, and Mab was going to start pressuring him to marry Moth, just to get her off her back. It seemed like the only one who came out on top was Dr. Jekyll.

He was going to have to do something about that, and soon. Or get out soon. Otherwise, he might end up married to Moth and have no way out, and then where would everyone be?

But first, he had to figure out where the dungeon was, so that he could get to them to get them out.

* * *

"We can bring her back tomorrow, right?" Dr. Jekyll asked Mab.

Mab sighed. "Of course. But could we possibly think about something other than the Grimm girl, please? You're like a child on Christmas morning."

"Fine." Jekyll said. "The boy."

"What about him?" Mab asked.

"How do you know we can trust him?" Jekyll asked, winding the cord of his device around the helmet portion.

"I don't." Mab said, smiling a bit. "But I have a feeling that, in about two weeks, he'll be quite firmly on our side."

"How?" Jekyll asked, stowing the device in a black leather box with a short handle.

"Well, I may not know him, but I know his type- heroes-" Mab said, "And I know my daughter. And the way I treat my daughter... well, the way she acts at home isn't the same as the way she acts in public, and this side of her will elicit his sympathy. And once she's won that, it'll only be a little while until she wins him completely. If she'd simply done that centuries ago, they might have been married decades ago, and we wouldn't have this issue."

"Have you been planning this for that long, then?" Dr. Jekyll asked, looking impressed.

"Oh, no." Mab said. "I made this plan up after he agreed. That's why I let Moth be his I treat Moth the way I do for many different ways already. She musn't be cosseted, if she's to rule. She must be strong. So I give her what she wants, but treat her as if she's superfluous. It'll make her more driven: for power; to prove herself."

"Mmm." Jekyll said absently. "Have you seen Dr. Frankenstein recently? I want to discuss this with him."

"I think he's assisting Heart in the Mayor's house." Mab said, not deigning to call it a mansion. After all, in comparison to her own home, it was minuscule. "Perhaps you should go look for him, though."

"Yes, I think I shall." Dr. Jekyll said, walking off.

* * *

Puck made use of the next day. He wandered around, seemingly aimlessly, peeking in rooms just to see what they held, but mostly to check whether or not they were locked. Locked rooms held important things. Things he wasn't allowed to see. Every once in a while, he would head to the bathroom, pull out the papers he'd stuffed inside his clothes that morning, and add the rooms he'd found to his map. Any door he couldn't open was given a question mark.

By the time Moth came back from school, he'd finished exploring his own floor, and mapped out a large section of the one above him. He was confident that, within the week, he'd be able to finish his map, and time out the places Moth could get to within ten minutes. He'd never been more grateful for being a winter fairy than now.

"Can I do your math homework?" He asked Moth. "Please? I'm bored."

"Absolutely." Moth said, dumping her bookbag out on Puck's bed.

He was astounded at how very... commonplace this seemed. Practiced, almost normal. As if this was his life.

Moth seemed to be thinking the same thing, because as they worked, she leaned in close to him and said, "We could get along, you know."

"Hm?" He asked, looking up from the simple problems absently.

"You and I." Moth said, almost seductive, but not quite. "We could be something. We're more alike than you'd like to admit. Both of us royals, but looked down upon, the least in our families- according to them, at least. Both of us exiled, sent to other places with no friends. Both of us brilliant."

Puck sighed. "Moth..." He started.

"No, don't turn me down now." Moth said. "I'm not forcing you into this. Just think about it? I love you. And we'll be spending a long time together, especially once the Scarlet Hand wins. So... please?"

Puck sighed. "Fine." He said, resigned. "I'll think about it." There was no chance he'd say yes, so... what was the harm? "Now, back to homework."

The rest of the afternoon was silent, but not in an awkward way. In fact, if Puck kept his eyes on his homework, he could almost believe he was sitting there with Sabrina instead of Moth. She was being much less obnoxious than usual.

Around five o' clock, though, Moth sat up abruptly and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. Mother wants us both back in the damper room. They'll be doing more with her powers tonight, and since you and I understand them a bit more than they do, we have to be there."

Puck sat up, resigned. "Sure it's not just that your mom wants to test me more?" He asked.

"Well, it might be that, too." Moth admitted. standing and heading for the door. "But just think, the more tests you pass, the sooner you'll be trusted!"

"Sure." Puck said, following her. "So what's this, test two, part two? Or test three?"

"Part two, I think." Moth looked at Puck expectantly, standing by the door.

Puck blinked at her, eyebrows raised for a second. He knew what she wanted him to do, but he couldn't believe she expected him to do it. But, after about thirty seconds, he sighed and pulled the door open, walking through it. He was tempted to slam it in her face, like he would have done to Sabrina, but he decided it wasn't worth it. Then he stopped. Had he just thought that? Was this what it was like being mature? He shuddered, then let go of the door.

It closed in Moth's face. Puck snickered and walked off a bit. That had felt good. Very good. He missed pranking people.

Moth caught up to him a minute later, looking miffed. "That was rude." She said haughtily.

Puck smiled to himself. Now things were back to normal. No more sad, almost nice, quiet Moth. Now she was back to her normal stuck-up self. "Sorry." He shrugged. "It slipped."

Moth sniffed and walked faster, so that she was a few paces ahead of him.

That was fine with Puck. It let him sneak glances and count doors, and meant he didn't have to talk with her.

Once they reached the room, they found Sabrina standing at the doorway, her heels planted, refusing to make the last few steps into the room. Puck grinned. That was the Sabrina he knew.

"I'm not going in there unless I get a shower." Sabrina was saying.

Puck shook his head. "Honestly, Grimm?" He asked. "All the things to demand, and you ask for a shower? I should be surprised, but I'm not." He walked past her into the room, pulling one of the magic-proof outfits on atop his clothes.

Sabrina didn't even spare him a glance, looking at Mab and Dr. Jekyll. "Look." She said. "If you let me take my shower first, I promise you I'll do exactly what you ask whenever and tell you whatever you want to know about my magic. Just _let me be clean_. You can even send her in with me, if you want!" She said, jabbing her chin at Moth. "But it's not fair for you to keep me locked up in filthy clothes that smell almost as much as I do, not let me move, and then test me for all sorts of stuff without even being clean!"

"She's kind of weird about that stuff." Puck said, working to keep his demeanor bored. "Showers five times a day, sometimes."

Mab looked at her thoughtfully, then said, "Fine. You get half an hour. Tops. Go with her, Moth."

Moth gave her mother a very long-suffering sigh, but grabbed Sabrina by the handcuffs and dragged her off.

They returned _just_ half an hour later, Sabrina with wet hair that smelled strongly of soap.

"Now, if there are no further delays, can we get started?" Dr. Jekyll asked pointedly.

Sabrina walked over to the table and sat down, then turned to Dr. Jekyll and looked at him expectantly. "What do you want to work on next?" She asked, then wrinkled her nose. "Do I have to wear the thing again?"

"No." Dr. Jekyll said.

Sabrina relaxed, sighing.

"But," Dr. Jekyll continued, and Sabrina stiffened, "You do have to wear this." He set another black case on the table next to her and opened it, pulling out a long series of cables with suction cups attached to them. "This will tell me exactly how you're doing what you're doing- if it's in your mind or your body chemistry or your muscles or your magical aura."

Sabrina made a face. "Ew." She said, but made no move to resist him as he put it on her.

"Now, your other powers were...?" Dr. Jekyll prompted.

Sabrina took a deep breath, then recited, "Controlling the weather, elements, gravity, time, and barriers, and astral travel."

"Let's start with the astral travel." Dr. Jekyll said. "How do you do it?"

"I fall asleep." Sabrina said. "Sometimes I go somewhere and sometimes I don't. Usually when I want to I do, but sometimes when I don't want to, I do anyway. It's kind of boring, most of the time. Everyone else is usually sleeping, too."

"Are you kidding?" Moth asked. "We're going to have to sit here and watch her fall asleep?"

"If you don't like it, I don't think we need you here." Dr. Jekyll said, sounding a bit angry. "She's already agreed to tell us whatever we want to know, after all, and that was what you were here for."

"_Can_ we, Mother?" Moth turned to Mab, excited and hopeful. "Please? It'll be so _boring_, just sitting here and watching her sleep."

"I'll fall asleep faster without them here." Sabrina said, shooting Puck and Moth a disgusted look that was somehow worse than the disgusted looks she used to send him, because it was directed at him and Moth. "It's hard to sleep when there's a bunch of people staring at you."

Mab sighed. "Go, then, if you're going to complain. But this would be good for you."

Moth turned, muttering, 'who cares what's good for me?' and Puck followed reluctantly. He didn't want to leave Sabrina with these people. What if they hurt her? It just went against the protector grain. And it went against his personal grain to leave Sabrina genuinely mad at him, and not try to apologize. He'd probably blow it, even if he did, but... that look! _He'd_ done that to her. He'd made her look at him like that.

But he left anyway, promising himself that he'd explain everything to her, as soon as he got them out.

Still, the sound of the door slamming behind him was extremely final, and left an ache in his chest like he hadn't felt since he learned to shut people out.


	78. Bored of it All

**AN~ ********Well, I seem to be over my writer's block!**

******_Purpleflower23:_ Oh, gosh, and I completely rushed this chapter. I was getting bored, so I decided I wanted them out of there. As a result this chapter's quality is WAY lower than last chapter, and now I feel guilty 'cause I got all these 'best chapter yet' comments, and it was awesome...  
**

******_Q:_ If you can't express yourself without cursing, please don't review. How exactly are you going to cause me problems? This is the internet. We probably live halfway across the world from each other. Oh, and have you not been reading? Because a) the title of the last chapter was 'not such a bad guy after all', b) I've been telling people who guessed which side Puck was on that they're right in the reviews, and c) I've been dropping hints all over the place. In fact, I'm pretty sure last chapter I came out and TOLD you he was faking it.  
**

******_Agd:_ Thanks! I really appreciate it!**

******_silverwombat:_ Moth is annoying. And thank you. :)**

******_squrriel101:_ Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

* * *

**The previous morning:**

Sabrina woke up back in the dungeon, with her hands strapped back above her head, but a box under her feet, this time, so that they were resting on something. It was just tall enough that when she stood up straight her arms bent at an awkward angle, making it almost as uncomfortable as before, but at least she could feel her fingers. She chanced a glance at her wrists warily, afraid to see what days of hanging from them had done, and saw, unsurprisingly, that both wrists were bruised dark blue.

She had been somewhere before, hadn't she? Somewhere not the dungeon.

Yeah, she had. Where?

With Puck, wasn't it? He'd been... kissing her? No, that was two years ago, now.

But she could have sworn...

It came back to her, then. The tests, Puck's betrayal, that kiss...

She must have relived their own kiss at least fifteen times, for them to get her down here before she snapped out of it.

"Stupid Puck." She muttered.

"What did the traitor do now?" Peter asked, and Sabrina's head snapped up as she remembered she wasn't alone.

"Kissed Moth." Sabrina said. "Looked like he was enjoying it, too."

Peter made a face. "Ew." He said. "So, what did they do to you up there?"

"Stuck me in a weird helmet and watched me see the past and tell when they were lying. Did you know Dr. Jekyll is an everafter?"

"I did." Mr. Clay said. "But I didn't know he was here."

"He's creepy." Sabrina said. "And this is double bad news 'cause not only does he invent stuff, but this means the Scarlet Hand has a doctor, and we don't."

"Wonderful." Peter said. "Hey, you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said, nodding. "I'm fine. I mean, my wrists hurt, but other than that..."

"I meant mentally." Peter said.

Sabrina gave Peter a look that killed all coversation.

* * *

**Back to The End of Last Chapter:**

After Puck left, Sabrina felt an echoing pain in her chest, a strange loss. After all, even if Puck was on the other side now, at least he was a familiar face, someone she understood.

But she comforted herself with the fact that she was clean, and all they were going to have her do was sleep. Clean was good, lying down was good, sleep was all right. All in all, this was the best possible outcome. So what if Puck was evil and gone?

She wondered if she'd be able to leave the room, or if the damper stuff would block her in. If she could leave, she could tell people where she was. Maybe they'd be able to rescue her, Peter, and Mr. Canis.

She forced her body to relax, and, lying on the table, waited to drift off to sleep.

She was out of her body, and floating above the table. She decided to try to leave first. No use sitting around wondering. So she floated over to the wall and pressed against it lazily.

It stung! Apparently the block on magic counted her as such. But still... she could go through, it just hurt.

She slipped outside and, seeing the Puck heading down the hall, decided to follow him. She could leave later.

But halfway to wherever Puck was heading, she saw a pair of card soldiers heading down towards what she was pretty sure was the dungeon, carrying two bowls of soup... or something. Maybe she could overhear the password...

She followed the two of clubs and the nine of diamonds down to the dungeon, wishing for that soup. She couldn't feel her stomach right now, but she still knew she was hungry, and she could almost smell that food.

She was right! They were headed for her cell! She waited, holding a breath she didn't need to take, ready to remember the password.

"Might forever." The nine of diamonds said, and the cell door opened.

Sabrina focused on memorizing the password, then headed upstairs, through the floors. She stopped when she saw Puck's hoodie inches from her face. She'd almost gone through him!

"Did you hear something?" Moth was saying.

Puck looked down, directly where Sabrina was, then away. Sabrina held her breath, sure he'd seen her. He knew what she looked like. But...

He shook his head. "Nope." He said. "Why?"

Maybe he hadn't seen her, then. But it seemed like he had. But why wouldn't he tell, if he had?

"So, did you think about what I said earlier?" Moth asked. "About us?"

Puck nodded. "A bit. But I'm not... not ready, Moth. For anything like that. It's too soon."

Why was he being nice to her? That little... Sabrina knew she should leave, but this was too interesting.

Moth nodded. "After she-"

Sabrina felt herself being pulled back to her body, and, even though she could have resisted, she didn't. It wasn't worth it, and she didn't want them getting suspicious.

She opened her eyes, back in her body, and said, "Well? Did you figure out what you wanted to?"

"Yes." Dr. Jekyll said. "But, of course, having been here the whole time, you ought have known that..."

"Yeah, totally." Sabrina said, a bit too quickly.

"Hmm..." Mab said. "Stay here, next time, girl."

"Next time?" Sabrina asked warily.

"I want to see if you can leave your body when drugged into a sleep." Dr. Jekyll said. "We have spells that allow people to leave the body, so I don't think I'll be testing to see if I can replicate this, but it's still worth studying, so that I gain an understanding of you."

"Oh." Sabrina said flatly. "You're not going to try to knock me out with a hammer, too, are you?"

"Well, perhaps." Dr. Jekyll said, pulling out a handkerchief and shoving it into Sabrina's face.

She was above her body again, and after a few minutes where she sat around staring at them, thought/said, "Great. It works. I'm still here. Wake me up, please? This is boring."

"Try just re-entering your body." Dr. Jekyll suggested. "I want to see if that wakes you."

"It doesn't." Sabrina thought/spoke, but she re-entered her body anyway.

She was woken several minutes later by a hideous smell. She sat up and said, "Auh! That's disgusting! Get it away from me!"

Her head hurt. She wasn't sure if it was from the chloroform or the smell, but she didn't like it. And she liked it even less when she was hit on the head with something large and heavy. Her vision went black again, then, for the third time that day, she found herself floating above her body.

"Not cool." She thought/spoke. "In fact, I don't think you're going to get me up from that anytime soon. That hurt."

"Well, then we'll simply sit here and wait for you to wake." Dr. Jekyll said, pulling out his notepad and jotting something down.

"And don't even think about leaving." Mab said harshly.

"Try and stop me." Sabrina said/thought, heading for the wall.

Mab picked up a knife and held it to Sabrina's body. Even in her astral form, she felt the ghost of cold on her cheek.

"Leave this room, and I will slice you just enough that your body will hurt tremendously when you return to it, but not enough that you die." Mab said. "And I want you to keep talking as long as you're here, so that I know where you are."

"Fine." Sabrina thought/spoke. She then proceeded to ramble for twenty minutes or so, complaining nonstop to Mab. When she felt the first tugs back to her body, she went gladly, and, opening her eyes, finished her rant by saying, "-have nose hair. Can I stop talking now?"

"Yes." Mab said irritably.

"What now?" Sabrina asked. "My head hurts, by the way. I think I said that before, but..."

"Gravity." Dr. Jekyll said, cutting Mab off before she could say, 'you did.'

"All right." Sabrina said, then concentrated on Dr. Jekyll's shirt. If she could move the anti-magic stuff, then... well... she'd never said she'd _do_ what they wanted, just that she'd tell them what they wanted to know.

But they didn't move. _Dangit_. Sabrina thought, then turned to the case that the whatever-she-was-wearing had been packaged in. It wasn't made out of the cream stuff.

She finagled the gravity around the box so that it was floating, then, first slowly, then faster and faster, shot the box at Dr. Jekyll's face.

It knocked him over, sending him to the floor with a thump. She switched the pull to Mab, then, and, when both were knocked out, ripped the sensors off her body and walked over to them. She kicked Mab in the head, then turned to Dr. Jekyll. "You're a creep." She told him, then walked to the door, planning to head out.

But it wouldn't open. She cursed quietly, knowing magic wouldn't work on it, then sat down to wait for someone to open it. Maybe she could knock them out, too.

* * *

It almost worked. When the door was opened, she ran for her life, shooting fireballs behind her, missing people as often as she hit them.

But she got hopelessly lost in the huge castle, and cornered. They got the cuffs back on her, and, though she landed a good number of solid kicks and punches, hurting them wasn't worth much if she was back in the dungeon.

"What happened to you?" Peter asked, once she was back, severely bruised and aching.

"I almost got out." Sabrina said. "But then I got lost."

Peter hissed, saying, "Ouch. So close."

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "It wasn't cool. But whatever. I found some stuff out, and if they ever start testing me again, I can maybe get out. I'll be more prepared next time."

"So will they." Mr. Clay said. "Don't try again for some time. Give them time to get their guard down."

"Sounds smart." Sabrina said.

So she did. When they came for her the next day, she didn't resist, and it was a good thing. They had guards in the room with her, she was strapped down to the table with the mind reading machine on her head and the sensor thing on the rest of her. But she put up no fight, and just did what they wanted her to.

* * *

"What's this?" Puck asked.

Moth was leading him to the great hall- he was blindfolded, but he'd memorized the way- and she was giggling madly. "You'll see." She said.

They reached the great hall and Moth pulled the blindfold off with a flourish. Puck looked around in confusion. The room was full of Hand members, all of them wearing the handprints. Mab stood on the dais nearby, holding a pallet of something. Puck walked forward with a little push from Moth, going to stand in front of Mab.

Mab, with great ceremony, put her hand in the pallet and pressed it against Puck's chest. "Welcome to the Scarlet Hand, Puck." She said.

The crowd erupted into a chorus- mostly cheers, but a few boos- and Puck, confused, looked down at the handprint, wondering dazedly if he would be able to get that off- that was his favorite sweatshirt.

"But-" He started, "But what about my third test? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but... well..."

"It was a secret test." Mab said. "I had Moth conduct it without telling you, so that you wouldn't be able to prepare mentally. Just in case." She smiled at him.

"Oh." Puck said, stunned. "Cool."

Moth ran up and hugged him. "Isn't this exciting?" She asked. "You're one of us, now! Soon you'll meet the master, and you'll get an assignment, and everything!"

"Great." Puck smiled tightly, then said, "Moth? You're squishing me." Inside, he was screaming, _cooties! Cooties! Get them of!_ but he knew better than to jump away from her, especially in front of all these people.

"Oh, sorry." Moth said, loosening her grip but not letting go. "This wasn't going to be for another few nights, but Mother's having a banquet this evening, and since you're a king, it seemed appropriate that you have an audience for your initiation."

"Oh..." Puck said. "So, are we eating now?" He asked.

"Not for a while yet." Moth said. "We'll mill about first and make polite conversation, then we'll head for the dining room."

"Great." Puck made a face. "I just love that."

Moth giggled and pulled him down the steps of the dais towards the crowd. "Come on, silly, it'll be fun." She said.

Puck followed, resigned, then perked up a bit, realizing that this was his chance!

If he could pretend to get lost in the crowd, he could sneak out of the great hall, and he'd narrowed the dungeon entrance down to four places- enough to search and escape from before they were missed. And everyone would be busy- if they had left any guards up, it would only be one or two, and he could take care of them easy. He'd get them out and away before anyone even noticed he was gone!

Now all he had to do was get away from Moth.

That actually turned out to be easier than he thought it would. After about fifteen minutes, he started to feel uncomfortable in the region of his bowels. "Listen, I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute."

"All right." Moth said, barely looking away from the fairy she was talking to. "Can you find it, do you think?"

"Probably." Puck said. "I'm learning my way around. I'll wander around 'til I do, if I get lost. I might be more than a minute, come to think of it."

"Well, find me when you get back." Moth said, turning back to her conversation. "I'll be around. Somewhere."

Puck mumbled a response and worked his way through the crowd and out the doors. He really did have to use the bathroom, but he didn't have time to find one. For a moment, he wavered in indecision, then, noticing a flowerpot, he scurried over to it, glancing about for other people: there weren't any.

He emerged a minute or so later, much more comfortable, and grateful again that he wasn't a girl, then headed towards his bedroom.

All four of his options led to nothing. Puck leaned against the wall, sighing angrily. Where could it be? He'd searched everywhere! He pulled out his maps, deciding that he might as well fill in the stuff he'd found. But, as he was going, he noticed something wrong in the room near the bend in the hall: there was too much space between the rooms.

Of course! A hidden staircase! Mab wouldn't want to clutter up her house with an ugly dungeon's door. Puck ran for the hot spot, and, reaching it, thumped against the wall and started feeling for cracks.

He found one, a long, narrow slit, and, in the molding, a strange dent, almost like the bottom of a handle. He pulled, and it opened. Genius construction. He couldn't have designed something better himself. And to make it so nobody noticed- well.

He started down the stairs slowly, wishing for one of Sabrina's handheld fires, putting a hand on the wall so that he didn't lose his balance, and closing the door most of the way behind him, but not all.

As he walked further down, a grayish glow started emanating from the walls, getting brighter the lower he went, and he realized he could have closed the door. He wondered if it was the rocks themselves that glowed, or a spell. Because if it was the rocks, he could take one with him and be able to see anywhere!

Puck reached the dungeon proper safe and sound, and began walking down the featureless hallway, counting doors as he went. It had been a while, now, and he wasn't sure he remembered the number right. Was it eight doors down? Or nine?

There was someone else in the hall.

Puck stopped short, staring at a boy- man, maybe. He looked about twenty- who was utterly ordinary looking, and thus, for Ferryport Landing, extraordinary. What was he doing here? More than that, where had he come from? Puck had been alone a minute ago.

"Hello, Puck." The boy said with a smile. "I know why you're here."

"You what?" Puck asked.

"I know you're here to let them out." The boy said.


	79. Escape

**AN~ Thus ends the plot arc of Puck-joins-the-Scarlet-Hand.  
**

******_() of chapter 79:_ I've been told. You're not going to answer my questions?  
**

******_Agd: _Sabrina is ALMOST invisible in her astral form, not quite. And because Mab can only barely see her, that's why Sabrina needed to keep talking. I'll make that clearer when I edit.**

******_squrriel101:_ Thanks! I'll fix that! Oh, you're winner of a review award. Whatcha want? :)**

* * *

_"I know you're here to let them out." The boy said._

"Back up." Puck said. "Who are you?"

"Tom Thumb." The boy said.

"Aren't you supposed to be... thumb-sized?" Puck asked, holding his own thumb up in front of his face and comparing it in size to the guy in front of him.

"I am." The brown-haired boy said. "Usually."

Puck gave him a confused look, raising his eyebrows and squinting, head turned to the side.

Tom sighed. "Post-natal fairy. Like Sabrina."

Puck shook his head. "Still not getting it."

"I can change in size." Tom said, voice flat.

Puck had heard that tone before. It meant the speaker thought he was about as thick as you could get. He bristled. "Great. So what else can you do, all-powerful one?"

"Teleport, and sense emotional ties." Tom said.

Well, that explained both where he'd come from and how he'd known what Puck was up to.

But Tom smiled then. "And you've got an extra one, buddy. Which is why I'm down here." Seeing Puck tense again, he said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you. In fact, if you really want to, I'll just let you through. I won't even tell them you left."

"So what's the catch?" Puck asked, wary.

"You've made it for yourself." Tom said with a smile. "You've got a choice to make, Puck. And you think you don't have one, that it's not even a choice, but I know better. I'm here to remind you that the girl in that cell is not the only one who loves you."

"Wha- _Moth_?" Puck asked skeptically. "You can't be serious." He decided to ignore the Sabrina-loves-you comment. She wouldn't after this.

"So who's it going to be, Puck?" Tom asked. "Either way, you'll break someone's heart. Moth, who is what you could have been, if you hadn't been the Trickster King, who's been nothing but kind to you, who understands what it's like to be royal and an everafter and looked down on by your family, or Sabrina, whose heart you already broke?"

Puck hesitated. He'd hate himself for it afterwards, but he thought about it for a minute. Moth hadn't seemed as revolting as before, this week. But he shook himself out of it. Moth might not be completely evil, but she'd never be Sabrina. She'd never have that fire, that life, that spirit that made Sabrina what she was.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Puck said. "Moth and I... just no." He shuddered.

Tom smiled. "Your choice." He said. "Just remember, Sabrina isn't under the protection of that oath anymore."

"She can handle it." Puck said, offhand. "She's strong."

"All right." Tom said. "You have about half an hour before you'll be missed. I suggest you get on that."

"Wait!" Puck called. When Tom stopped, he said, "Two things. One, weren't you on our side once? And two, why are you doing this?"

"I wasn't." Tom said. "I was never part of the Fay, but I've always hated humans... maybe 'cause they're so used to thinking they're the only powerful ones in the world, maybe 'cause of my dad. And... why I'm doing it? Because Mab's been ruling things for too long. And besides, Sabrina and I... we're almost related. Cobweb made me what I am today. I'm repaying a debt. Next time, though, don't expect any special favors."

He disappeared soundlessly, leaving Puck in an empty hallway, with his head much fuller than before and his heart much heavier.

Then the realization hit: he still didn't know how to open the doors.

He tried transforming to an elephant first, but all he did was shake things up, so he switched back to his normal form and belched fire at the door. Still nothing. So, after a long, desperate sit-and-think, he transformed into a flea and crawled under the door.

On the other side of the door, he switched back to his own form and was met by shocked looks from the three prisoners in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked, and his voice was full of poison.

"I'm here to bust you out." Puck said hurriedly. "And I've only got, like, fifteen minutes to do it in, so save the questions and yelling at me for after, 'kay?"

"How, exactly, are you going to get us out?" Mr. Clay asked, and Puck was a bit surprised by how accepting he seemed.

"Like this." Puck said, walking up to the lock on Mr. Clay's cuffs. He examined it for a minute, then stuck his hand in Mr. Clay's and spun around in a circle, transforming to a key that would fit in the lock.

It took Mr. Clay a lot longer than Puck would have liked to work him into the keyhole and unlock himself, but after that, it was a simple matter to unlock the other two.

When they all stood free in the room, Peter asked, "Now what, traitor?" HIS voice was full of ice.

"Well, I can leave from the inside." Puck said. "If I knew the password, I could get you guys out, too..."

Sabrina, who hadn't said anything up 'til that point- in fact, hadn't even looked at Puck- said, looking over his shoulder, "Might forever."

"What was that?" Puck asked.

Sabrina sighed and repeated, "Might forever. It's the password. I overheard the guards using it."

"All right then." Puck said, attempting a smile. She still wouldn't look at him.

He shrugged, then spun, turning back into a flea, and hopped over to the door. On the other side, he spun himself human again and turned to the door to say the password. "Might forever?" He asked, and the door swung open silently.

The others ran out. Mr. Clay looked at Puck gratefully, but the others ignored him. Sabrina ran straight for the stairs, and Peter followed.

"Wait!" Puck called, running after them. "You don't know the way out!"

"Oh, and you do?" Peter asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not exactly." Puck said, and as Peter started to turn back, he continued hurriedly, "But I have a general idea. Look, I made a map!"

Peter grabbed the map and, yanking it out of Puck's hands, said, "So where are we?"

"Not on the map." Puck said, snatching his map back. "So let me lead you."

"How do we know you're not just going to lead us straight to the Scarlet Hand?" Peter asked, eyes narrowing.

"Then you're back where you started." Puck said. "So come on, let's go!"

He ran for the stairs without looking back. They'd follow him. They didn't have any choice. He led them as fast as possible through the castle, sure that he'd be missed soon. He'd been right about the position of the door, and they made it out safely- only to see a wall surrounding the castle.

"Now what?" Peter asked snidely.

"Three of us can fly." Puck reminded him. "So two of us carry Mr. Clay."

"Sabrina and me." Peter said promptly.

Puck shrugged, and the group flew over the wall quickly. By Puck's internal clock, people would be just starting to look for him. But he might be wrong. He'd lost track a bit in the dungeon. Peter and Sabrina led the way to the woods that surrounded the castle, and landed among the leafless trees. Puck touched down after them, then started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"Away from the castle." Puck said. "I have no idea where we are, so I figure if we walk in any direction, we'll at least be getting farther from anyone who'd look for us."

"Well, let's go this way, then." Peter said, pointing at a right angle to the direction Puck was headed. "Just in case."

Puck shrugged and followed him, along with the others. They walked for the whole evening, with no signs of pursuit, surprisingly. The air was warm, for November, but it was wet, and they were plodding their way through half-decomposed wet leaves most of the time, uphill and downhill, through pathless woods. It was rough going, and by the time night fell, they were all exhausted.

They stopped when Sabrina and Peter couldn't see well enough to walk anymore, simply sitting in a clear-ish area of the forest. Sabrina sat on a rock as far away from Puck as possible, but Peter stayed close, keeping a watchful eye on him.

"So, Puck, explain." Peter said.

Puck did, talking until he saw Peter's face soften. He looked over at Sabrina, who looked incredibly forlorn in the moonlight.

"She heard all of that." Mr. Clay said, seeing where Puck was looking.

"So what's she thinking?" Puck asked.

"Go talk to her and see." Mr. Clay suggested. "You hurt her badly, with what you did. The fact that Peter forgave you means it will just take her longer."

"All right, I will." Puck said, and he walked over to the rock Sabrina was sitting on and put a hand on her shoulder.

Sabrina spun and hit him with a right hook in the jaw.

Puck put his hands to his jaw and, pushing it from side to side, said, "Aau! Uah! What was that for?"

"For betraying me!" Sabrina half shouted. "For two weeks in a dungeon thinking you'd switched sides, for every look Moth gave me, and for that stupid, stupid _KISS!"_

"Well, I'm sorry, I was trying to save us all!" Puck snapped. "It was the only thing I could think of!"

"Did you ever think about_ warning_ us?" Sabrina asked. "Instead of just acting like you'd switched sides?"

"I honestly never thought you'd fall for it, too!" Puck marveled, hurt. "How could you think I'd do that?"

"Because I thought about doing that." Sabrina said, quieter now. "And if I thought about it, well... why wouldn't you?"

Puck walked around so that he was in front of Sabrina and squatted down, looking into her face. "Sabrina." He said. "I would never, _ever_ betray you like that. I promise. This was just the only way I could think of to get us out of that."

"What about all that stuff with Moth?" Sabrina asked, accusing again. But her eyes seemed a bit softer.

Puck thought about telling her the truth for a millisecond, the stuff about feeling sorry for Moth, but, when he noticed her noticing his hesitation, and saw the way she got suspicious again, he said, "She was kind of like my babysitter to make sure I wasn't faking wanting to be in the Hand. She volunteered for it. And the... the kiss was just to get you back into a vision. I wasn't sure it would work, but I had to try. And it did, didn't it? I swear, Moth and I will never be anything. Ever."

"Mph." Sabrina said, looking pointedly at his sweatshirt with its Scarlet Handprint in the center.

"And you know, if you hadn't taken off your necklace, I never would have done that!" Puck said, incensed.

"I took it off so that Daphne would have the key to the chicken house!" Sabrina snapped. "Honestly, Puck!"

"Oh..." Puck said, realizing. "Well, I meant it." He offered. "It was a charade the whole time."

"Goodnight, Puck." Sabrina said, lying down on the wet leaves.

Puck could have fought harder, but he decided not to press her. They were both tired, and he knew how stubborn she could get. She'd refuse to forgive him, just 'cause that's what he wanted. So he stood up and walked away with a sigh.

"Give her time." Mr. Clay said, patting him on the shoulder. "She'll forgive you."

Puck looked towards her with a sigh, then said, "Maybe. But she's got the right idea. We've got a long day and no food tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning, Puck was woken by the sound of people crashing through the bushes.

"Wha-" He started to say, rubbing his eyes.

"Sh!" Sabrina's voice said quickly.

Puck sh'ed.

They sat there in silence for a long fifteen minutes, listening to people shuffle through the wet leaves around them. It was a bright, clear morning, one that would start the forest drying out, but it was also much colder than the day before. That meant that they were all freezing, having slept on the wet ground. Puck noticed that Sabrina was wearing his inside-out sweatshirt, which he'd put over her the night before. Well, good. At least she was practical, even if she hadn't forgiven him yet. And this meant she'd be a bit warmer.

When the sounds finally died away, Puck sat up and stretched with a groan. "How did they not see us?" He asked.

"Sabrina put a barrier up that just reflected the trees back at them." Peter said. "It was mostly card soldiers, so when they saw their reflections, they thought it was just more of them."

"Smart." Puck said. Normally he wouldn't have complemented her, but he figured a complement might help him get back in her good books.

Sabrina, though, seemed to have gone back to giving him the cold shoulder.

"Hey." Peter said thoughtfully. "Now that we know they've searched here, could you call your magic house, Sabrina?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I could try, but it might call attention to us." She said. "And I don't even know if it'll come, since I don't have the key."

"Try anyway." Mr. Clay suggested. "It came to Baba Yaga, even after she gave you the key."

Sabrina shrugged, then whistled loudly, whispering afterwards, "Please be just a chicken, please please please..."

They sat around waiting for ages, it seemed to Puck.

Sabrina looked down at herself. "I'm filthy." She said, wrinkling her nose. "I can't wait to get home and get in clean clothes. Not only have I been wearing this for who knows how long, now they're muddy, stained, and have leaves stuck on them!"

"So they pretty much look like my clothes." Puck joked.

Sabrina didn't answer, just saying mournfully, "I liked these clothes."

Puck shrugged. He hadn't expected anything else. But it was weird, having her so mad she wouldn't' speak to him, instead of shouting her head off at him.'

Just as Puck was about ready to suggest that they start walking, there was a rustle in the leaves. A small beaked head poked its way around a tree trunk, and was soon followed by a fat yellow chicken.

"House!" Sabrina said gleefully, standing. "Take us home!"

The chicken turned and started trotting off in the opposite direction, and the others scrambled up, following it. Puck was struck by the ridiculousness of four people following a chicken through the woods in the early morning, and he started to chuckle.

After an hour or so, Puck realized how fast chickens could move, and he was starting to get tired. He wished he could fly, but the trees were too thick. "Can," he panted, "can we stop? Take a break?"

"Sounds nice." Peter said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Sabrina slowed to a halt, and Mr. Clay followed. The chicken took a minute longer, then turned back to them, trotted a few steps, and stopped, wearing a very interesting expression for a chicken, or a house. Puck had never thought he'd see an impatient chicken.

"I think we're probably far enough away that we could go the rest of the way home inside the chicken house." Mr. Clay suggested. "It'll be much faster and safer and less tiring."

"Sounds good to me." Sabrina said, pursing her lips. She turned to the house and said, "How bout it? Go back to house form?"

There was a loud 'whump,' then the area in front of them was suddenly full of house, and Puck found himself staring at the large, lumpy calf of a chicken leg. He looked at Peter, who nodded, and the two grabbed Mr. Clay by the arms and hoisted him up, flying to the porch. Sabrina followed after.

"House, home!" She called, stepping inside. The house started trotting off, jerking with each step, and Sabrina threw herself down onto the couch. "Ah, it's good to be home." She said with a sigh. Then she sat up abruptly. "There's a shower in here. And Mom had Uncle Jake put spare clothes for everybody in his bedroom. I can be clean!" She got up and ran for the bedroom, stumbling a bit as the house shook.

They all took showers, even Puck- very difficult when the house you're showering in is moving- and were dressed in new, clean clothes- except Puck, who had given his to Peter, who was about his size, by the time they reached the Grimm house. The Chicken House stopped short in the front yard, and they walked out to tell the family they were home.


	80. Return

**AN~ Well, this chapter came faster than I expected, too. Maybe you'll be lucky and I won't get writer's block again until book 9 comes out.**

**_Naya Lopez_ Thanks! Do I have more haters than I'm aware of, or is it just the... four?**

**_RRB: _When I edit it, I'll try to work in more Moth/Puck. But I'm not really a Moth fan, so I put in the jump cut and kind of hoped people would assume they'd bonded over their three weeks of almost constant company.  
**

**_Evil Scrapbooker:_ Are you aware that you've disable private messaging? It makes it hard to talk to you. I think I'll work Tom in somehow, he's fun. He kind of came out of nowhere, though, so I'm not sure how he'll fit in yet.  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Chapter 80: Sorry. But she has a backstory, too! I pulled a JK Rowling that chapter. I'm done with that for now. And the shower thing was fun. Chapter 81: Someday, I will go back and completely revamp this, but right now I'm just correcting errors. I'm through chapter 67 on corrections, though! And I DID update! Probably right after you reviewed, actually. :) Chapter 82: Tom's in the Scarlet Hand, but he's not evil. He just wants his piece of the pie. And I'll fix those.**

* * *

Sabrina sat down on the couch in the living room with a sigh. It was good to be home. It was good to be clean,and it was good to be surrounded by her family.

However, it would be even better to have her arm to herself.

"Daph, you can let go now." Sabrina said wearily. "I missed you, too, but I'm not going anywhere."

"No." Daphne said, stubborn.

Sabrina sighed but didn't protest. She looked around the familiar room, taking in the sights, but stopped when she noticed a large tree sitting in the corner- a Christmas tree.

"Daphne?" She said slowly. "What's today's date?"

"December twentieth." Daphne said promptly.

"Holy cow!" Sabrina yelped. "We were in that dungeon for almost three weeks!"

Daphne nodded. "See why I won't let go of you?"

Sabrina nodded, too. "Yeah." She said. "Sorry about that. I'm glad I didn't miss Christmas, though."

"Me, too." Daphne said.

There was silence for a time, an odd thing with Daphne around. Sabrina thought about what had happened earlier: they'd come home on a Sunday, thank goodness, so the family was actually home at ten in the morning, and what a party there had been! Sabrina had been passed around and hugged for almost half an hour, then, just when she thought she'd be able to sit down and take a nap, it turned out Granny had called friends, and they'd come to give her hugs, too. Peter joked that he should try getting captured more often, because it made him feel more liked. They'd told their story, and most people were a lot more understanding of Puck than she was, and Granny and her mom had cooked a huge lunch to celebrate. Now everyone had gone home, and Sabrina was mentally preparing herself to catch up on everything she'd missed.

Puck came in, looked at Sabrina warily, and sat down on the armchair instead of the open seat on the couch.

Sabrina almost smiled. She should give him the silent treatment more often. She wasn't really mad anymore, but she wasn't going to be friendly yet. In a day or two, then she might go back to how it used to be. But let him see how it was to think your best friend hated you! ...All right, so maybe she was a bit mad. But she'd forgive him eventually.

"So what did we miss, Marshmallow?" Puck asked tentatively.

Daphne shrugged. "Not much. We looked for you guys, did a lot of schoolwork, and looked for the baby a bit." She paused, then added, "Oh, and Mustardseed and Renee are kind of almost not quite dating."

Sabrina sat up straight. "Say what?" She asked.

"Come again?" Puck said at about the same time.

"Renee decided she was over you and started to like Mustardseed, and they both know they like each other, but they're not dating yet." Daphne explained.

"Took them long enough." Puck said, adding a 'puh' of air to his sentence.

Sabrina, on the other hand, said, "That was fast."

"What?" Puck asked.

"She got over one guy and started liking another one in three weeks?" Sabrina asked, forgetting that she wasn't talking to Puck.

"Well, she has been mooning after a guy who doesn't like her for decades." Daphne pointed out, then shuddered. "That's so weird... the decades thing? I'm still not used to it."

"It's kind of easier when they're older, isn't it?" Sabrina asked. "Adults are already all old, it's OK that they're older than they look, but when a kid is actually, like, two hundred... it's disconcerting."

"What's that mean?" Daphne asked. "Disconcerting?"

"Weird, creepy, strange, kind of, but mostly, the sort of thing that knocks your worldview off a bit." Sabrina explained, looking idly at the Christmas tree. Then she sat upright. "Presents!" She said abruptly. "Christmas presents! I need some!"

"Having you home is present enough for me." Veronica called from the kitchen.

"I want a pony." Daphne grinned. "But you're close enough."

"What, you want a pony ride?" Sabrina joked.

"Yeah!" Daphne grinned, bouncing up and down a bit, still holding on to Sabrina's arm.

"That was a joke." Sabrina said wearily. "Besides, you're too big for horsie rides."

"I'll give you a piggyback ride, Marshmallow." Puck offered.

"But..." Daphne said, looking a bit crestfallen, "then I'd have to let go of Sabrina..."

"Cute, but no cigar." Sabrina said dryly. "You can keep hugging me or you can get your ride. Hey, maybe if you're lucky, Puck will give you a _real_ horsie ride!"

Daphne turned a pitifully adorable face to Puck. "Would you?" She asked.

Puck looked at Daphne for a moment, his face twisting. Finally, he gave in and said with a sigh, "Fine."

Daphne bounced up off the chair, hand working its way towards her mouth as she ran for the hallway. She grabbed Puck's arm on the way, tugging him with her.

"Put a coat on!" Sabrina called after them- Daphne, mostly. After all, fairies didn't need coats. That was one thing she envied them of- she still felt the cold like any other person.

She sat in the living room by herself for a minute, rubbing her sore wrists. Apparently, while she'd been gone, Nurse Spratt had declared that they'd have to start rationing medical supplies: only serious injuries got magical healings, the rest were simply tended with bandages or sometimes pain medicine or stitches. Sabrina's wrists, though badly bruised, were not considered serious medical issues.

After a few minutes, though, she got antsy. She wanted to see her family again. Personal space was nice, and all, but she'd been away from them too long. She stood and headed for the kitchen, where Granny was cooking something purple and Veronica was setting the table.

"Hello, Sabrina." Granny smiled from the stove.

Sabrina smiled at Granny Relda, then picked up a handful of forks and began laying them around the table to give her mom a hand- as if she'd had a reason to be in the kitchen other than loneliness.

Veronica stopped her halfway around the table with a long, tight hug. "Mmm." She said, squeezing Sabrina tight, still holding a bunch of napkins. "I missed you."

"Missed you, too, Mom." Sabrina said, holding Veronica's arms, which was about all she could reach from her position.

"I've been talking to Jake." Veronica continued, "About the baby? He thinks that he might have found a way to look for him, but he needs you and Daphne to help. I know it's a bit much, since you just got out of that horrible dungeon, but..."

"Of course I'll do it." Sabrina said, still dropping forks onto the table. "One thing, though."

"What's that?" Veronica asked, laying down the last of her napkins and going to the cupboard to get out plates.

Sabrina put down her final fork and returned to her own drawer for spoons, saying, "Can I have some money? And a ride to town? For Christmas presents?"

Veronica laughed. "That's all?" She asked, doling out plates. "Of course. We can finish our shopping together."

Sabrina grinned. Quality time with her mom! Just the two of them, doing something normal! "Thanks." She said.

"Did I hear shopping?" Bella asked, sticking her head in the doorway.

Sabrina amended her last thought. _Not_ just the two of them, then. Shopping with Bella would be a bit- a lot- more of an ordeal than a mother daughter date, but it would still be fun. "Christmas shopping." She explained. "Since I kind of missed the pre-holiday buy-time."

"So, if I go, I'll know what you're going to get me." Bella said thoughtfully, leaning on the doorframe. "Hm... surprise versus getting out of the house..."

"If you're going to stand there, help." Veronica said firmly, handing Bella a cup. "Fill up the drinks while you think."

Bella sighed, but did as she was told.

"So are you coming or not?" Sabrina asked, once she'd laid down the last of the utensils.

Bella looked from Sabrina to Veronica thoughtfully. "Nah." She said with a half smile. "I've done all my shopping, and I'm pretty much broke."

"Where do you get money?" Sabrina asked. "You don't have a job, you don't get an allowance- or at least you better not-"

"My mom." Bella said. "She feels guilty, I guess, so she gives me a twenty every time she sees me."

Sabrina pursed her lips. "How much do you think it would take to guilt my dad into paying me for disappearing for two years?"

"No." Veronica said.

Sabrina shrugged. "It was just a thought."

"Hey, c'mere." Bella said, tugging on Sabrina's wrist.

Sabrina followed, saying, "Where exactly are we going?"

"My room." Bella said. "We need to catch up."

"Sure." Sabrina said. "But can you let go of my wrist? That hurts."

"Sorry." Bella said, dropping Sabrina's wrist and looking at it. "I didn't- holy crow, Sabrina, what happened?"

"They had these wristcuff things on the wall that we were attached to, but they were one-size-fits-all, and I was too short." Sabrina said. "So most of my weight was on my wrists."

Bella hissed, then changed course.

"Now where are we going?" Sabrina asked, following.

"The bathroom." Bella said, not looking at Sabrina as she marched forward. "I'm doing something about those bruises.

"Bella, it's no big deal, I can manage." Sabrina said,still following. "It's not like they're broken or anything. Besides, aren't we supposed to be conserving medical stuff?"

"That's potions and things that we have limited supplies of." Bella said, pulling the bathroom door open and pointing to the toilet. "Sit. I'm Nurse Spratt's in-training, though, and Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus's, too. I need practice. And this is renewable."

Sabrina pulled the toilet seat cover down and sat, looking at Bella warily. "What are you going to do?" She asked.

"This." Bella said, and turned into a large, greenish thing with blonde hair.

Sabrina tried to keep herself from recoiling- it was Bella, after all- but when the giant frog ran her tongue over Sabrina's wrists, she couldn't help but shudder.

Bella morphed back to her normal self and said, "I know, it's gross. But my spit can numb pain, apparently."

"That's both awesome and creepy." Sabrina said, holding up her wrists. They still looked awful, but Bella was right, they were starting to hurt less already. "Can you do it without turning into a frog?"

Bella shook her head. "Believe me, I tried." She said. "I have to take a shower every time I turn into a frog, otherwise I get really gross. But if it helps..."

Sabrina nodded. "You're right. Thanks."

"No problem." Bella said. "Mind if I hop in the shower real fast?"

Sabrina gestured towards Bella, saying, "Be my guest. We can talk after dinner."

Bella smiled greatfully at Sabrina, who was already standing and walking out the door. "It's good to have you back." She said into the closing door.

* * *

Dinner was full of just as many happy looks at Sabrina and Puck. It was a bit weird, actually. Every time she looked up, someone else was just sitting there, smiling at her.

"Would you stop that?" Sabrina snapped, finally. "I'm not going to disappear on you, you can look at someone else!"

Uncle Jake, who had been the one staring at her that time, grinned and looked back at his food. "Sorry, 'Brina. It's just nice to have you back- and know they didn't break your spirit while you were in there."

Sabrina wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him, then went back to eating.

Red, who was sitting between Sabrina and Puck, looked up at Sabrina out of the corner of her eyes, then turned back to her plate. This happened several times, before Sabrina realized she was afraid to look at her.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Sabrina sighed. "Red, it's not that you _can't_ look at me, just don't stare, 'kay?"

Red nodded, blushing, but didn't say anything. She didn't talk through all of dinner, but afterwards, when Sabrina and Bella were sitting on Bella's bed, looking at a magazine, Sabrina looked up and noticed Red standing outside the door, peering in through the side.

"Red?" She asked. "Wassup?"

Red disappeared behind the wall, then stuck her head forward a bit.

Sabrina sighed a bit, then turned to Bella and said, "Listen, I'll be right back."

"Mm-hm." Bella said, flipping a page in the magazine. "Be back in time for the quiz."

Sabrina levered herself up off the bed and followed Red out into the hall. "Hey." She said.

Red didn't say anything. In fact, she didn't even look up at Sabrina.

"What's wrong?" Sabrina asked, squatting down so that she could look up at Red. "You're treating me like I'm some big scary monster or something, have been since I got back. What did I do?"

Red turned her head to the side, still looking down, but Sabrina followed her. "Listen," she said, "I don't know what's up, but something's obviously bothering you. So tell me what it is so we can fix it."

Red looked at Sabrina, wide eyed. "You're not mad?" She asked.

Sabrina gave Red an incredulous look. "Mad about what?"

"That I didn't stay with you." Red said "At the battle. You're not mad that I left?"

"Red, I told you to go." Sabrina said. "I melted the handcuffs. I wanted you to be safe. How could I be mad?"

"If we hadn't been attached in the first place, you could have fought better." Red whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "So it's my fault you had to get captured in the first place. The least I could have done is stayed with you."

"No." Sabrina said. "I would have hated for you to have to stay with me. For you to go through that..." She shook her head. "What you're feeling is called Survivor's guilt, Red, and it's totally normal, but I don't want you to have to keep feeling it. I'm not mad at you, I'm back now, and everyone's fine. So smile for me, please? 'Cause you have nothing to feel guilty about."

Red gave Sabrina a small quavering smile and said, "OK."

Sabrina stood up straight, clapping Red on the shoulder. "Good." She said with a smile, heading back into Bella's room. Halfway in, she leaned back out and said, "It'll probably take a while to forgive yourself, won't it?" She smiled when Red shrugged. "I'll just keep reminding you. And get Daphne to, too."

Red's small smile grew a bit, and Sabrina walked back into Bella's room with a smile, then stopped. Her back was bothering her. She stretched, twising from one side to the other.

"I'm too young to be this stiff." She told Bella, sitting back on the bed, cross-legged.

"I can't imagine why you'd be stiff at all." Bella said, then asked, "What do you look for most in a boy: a sense of humor, good looks, a romantic, or smart?"

Sabrina gave Bella a 'really?' look that went unnoticed as Bella marked her own answers onto the quiz. "Well, looking at who I like, I'd go with a sense of humor, apparently. But my ideal guy would be smart." She sat up straight after a few seconds. "I remember now!"

"Remember what?" Bella asked, looking up from the quiz for the first time, a little wary.

"My back reminded me." Sabrina said, "Staying in shape and stuff. We were going to start working on your stamina!"

Bella made a face. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Kind of hoped you had, too. Can we finish the quiz first?"

"How about we do both?" Sabrina suggested. "I'll ask you the questions while you do pushups, then you ask me questions while I do...something. Maybe something magic, I guess, since I need to work on that kind of strength."

Still making a face, Bella sighed, then tossed the book to Sabrina and got on her hands and knees on the floor. "How many pushups do I have to do?"

"As many as it takes for you to finish the quiz." Sabrina said, picking the magazine up. "What's you're favorite of these colors: red, blue, purple, or yellow?"

Bella dropped almost to the floor, then levered herself back up. "Green." She said, grunting. "But since that's not there, let's go with purple."

Sabrina marked it off, and then asked the next question. They spent the rest of the evening like that, thoroughly exausting themselves, but it was, in Sabrina's opinion, one of the best possible ways to spend an evening.


	81. Date with Mom

**AN~ ****The prank idea comes from NoraeKaye.**

**_ANannyMouse:_ You're welcome! I think Tom should switch, too. This right here isn't filler, it's a respite. They need a break for Christmas. I hope that I'll finish before book 9 comes out, but if I don't I'll write past there. My goal is to be done by April. That's why updates have been speeding up. And the writer's block thing, that was from my mononess.  
**

**_Naya Lopez:_ Thanks! I used to feel bad, but then I remembered that I'm never going to meet those people, and if they don't know me, then why should their opinion matter? The people worth getting to know, I do, the ones not worth getting to know I just don't react the way they want me to.  
**

**_squrriel101:_ Thanks very much for telling me what you liked! I'm off the cliffies for a bit, I think. In a few chapters, maybe they'll come back, but for now we're good. Christmas respite!**

* * *

Sabrina overslept the next morning, and stumbled downstairs to find everyone else almost ready for school- except Bella, sitting at the table finishing up breakfast.

"I'm not going to be ready in time." She said, sitting down at the table with a thump.

"Stay home." Henry suggested, doling sausages onto her plate. "It's perfectly understandable that you wouldn't go right back after what you've been through."

Sabrina sighed. "But I'm already way behind! How am I supposed to catch up if I don't go today, either?"

"I'll talk to your teachers." Henry said firmly, adding three toaster waffles to her sausages. "Get your work from them, and bring it back to you. You need to rest and heal."

"I'm not hurt that bad!" Sabrina protested. "It's just my wrists, mostly!"

Henry sighed. "Look, just stay home, OK?" He asked. "It's not just because you'll be late, Sabrina... I'm worried about you. Give the Scarlet Hand some time to cool down before you go back, all right?"

Sabrina sighed. "Fine." She said. "But what am I going to do all-"

A shriek from the bathroom cut her off. A few minutes later, Bella ran in, hair sopping wet and looking greener than usual, holding a hair dryer in her hand, her face white. "Puck!" She snapped, shaking the hair dryer at him, "What did you do?"

"Eternal renewal spell on a thing of baby powder." Puck grinned, leaning back in his chair in satisfaction. "Every time you turn that hair dryer on, you'll get blasted with talcum."

"I'm going to kill you." Bella said, murder in her eyes, tossing the hair dryer at him. "You owe me a new one of these, now. I can't believe it! First day back, and already you broke my hairdryer!"

"That's not all he did." Daphne muttered, putting a hand to her mouth to hide her snickers.

Bella's narrowed eyes grew wide. "What did he do?" She demanded. "What happened?"

Sabrina stood up with a sigh and said, "Here, Bella, let me help you." She walked her to the bathroom, shooting Daphne a glare and mouthing,_ 'it's not funny.'_

Daphne just grinned, and so did Puck, who Sabrina wasn't looking at (on purpose). She shook her head. She'd been where Bella was, and she understood. Honestly, she wondered why it wasn't her getting pranked.

"What did he do?" Bella asked Sabrina again, twisting to see her back.

"He put something in your shampoo, I guess." Sabrina shrugged, "'Cause your hair is green."

Bella stopped and turned to Sabrina. "It's _what_?" She hissed.

"It might not be _green_ green," Sabrina said, pushing Bella a bit to get her walking again. "But it's definitely tinged. I'll see if I can wash it out for you, but you need to _move_."

Bella started walking again, muttering under her breath about how she couldn't let Wendell see her with green hair.

"Maybe you'll be lucky and it'll just be jell-o." Sabrina suggested. "It doesn't look dark enough to be actual dye."

Bella just leaned over the side of the sink without saying anything, and Sabrina turned on the faucet, starting to scrub Bella's head.

"Yeah, it's coming out a bit." Sabrina said. "You're going to have to go to school with wet hair anyway, is that all right?"

"Can't you fix it dry for me?" Bella asked pleadingly. "I mean, I was there for you the time Puck dyed your _skin_ green, remember? With all that makeup? So can you make me look normal?"

Sabrina complied, taking a break from washing green out of Bella's hair to pull all the moisture out of it and shove a greenish waterball at the tub, where it splashed around a bit, but didn't make too much of a mess. Bella stood up straight, turning to Sabrina angrily.

Sabrina cut her off, turning her to the mirror. "You know," She said thoughtfully, "You don't look that bad with green hair. Maybe you should keep it."

"OK, ay, I didn't mean dry my hair now." Bella said, "And bee, just no."

"Maybe just a few streaks?" Sabrina asked. "You can pretend you're being festive."

Bella sighed. "Fine." She said. "Just get as much of it out as you can, please?"

Sabrina shrugged and went back to washing Bella's hair. "You know, you're going to have to leave before I can finish, anyway." She said conversationally.

"What do you mean, _you're_ going to have to leave?" Bella asked. "You're coming, too."

Sabrina shook her head. "Dad wants me to stay home so the Scarlet Hand has time to cool down. I figure, I'm already way behind, what's one more day?"

Bella shrugged, accidentally shoving her shoulder into the spray from the sink.

"Bella!" Veronica's voice called up the stairs, "Time to go!"

Sabrina turned off the sink and pulled all the water out of Bella's hair again, noting that it had worked out nicely, with actual streaks in her hair, instead of green patches or something like that. She washed her hands free of the dye as Bella walked downstairs, then hopped into the shower to clean herself.

When she stepped out, she checked herself in the mirror warily, then stepped right back into the shower. Her hair was green, too. Maybe if she caught it fast enough, she'd be able to stop it. She turned the water back on, then, before stepping into it, stopped and examined the shower with suspicion. The water looked oddly tinted. She unscrewed the center of the head, and found, unsurprisingly, a ripped packet of lime jell-o shoved into the space between the screws and the side of the showerhead.

She pulled the packet out, muttering, "I'm going to kill that boy," as she threw it in the garbage, then she scrubbed her head for a full ten minutes to be sure she'd gotten all the green out.

After she was clean and dressed, she walked downstairs, pulling a brush through her hair. Elvis, lying in the middle of the hallway, by the front door, looked up at her and whined. That was when the realization hit Sabrina: this was the first time she'd been in the house without any other people, even Daphne. ...Well, there was Mirror, and Elvis, but they didn't really count, since Elvis couldn't talk, and Mirror was in his room. She could do whatever she wanted! She could jump up and down on the bed, she could eat all the ice cream, she could build a pillow fort- as long as she cleaned up by five, nobody would know the difference!

"Hey, Elvis," She grinned, "want some ice cream?"

Elvis's ears perked up, and the big dog bolted for the kitchen. Sabrina followed after, shoving him out of the way so that she could get to the freezer, laughing the whole time. This was going to be a good day.

It was. She and Elvis ate whatever they wanted- except sausages- built the biggest pillow/mattress/blanket/cushion fort ever imagined, and jumped on every piece of furniture in the house. The thought crossed Sabrina's mind once or twice that she ought to be doing something productive, but this was just too much fun! Lastly, they decided to go mattress surfing- the house had a huge, wide staircase, perfect for it, and it was something Sabrina had always wanted to do, but been unable to in New York City.

The two were sliding down the stairs for the third time when everyone else got home. Her laughter was cut off when she realized that she and Elvis were going to collide straight into the family, and she called, "Look out!" loudly as she tried to grab the banister to slow herself down.

The mattress bumped to a stop after bowling Daphne over and running into Henry's knees. Sabrina looked up, embarrassed but still smiling sheepishly.

"Hi." She said quietly into the silence and shocked faces of her family.

Daphne spoke first: "I want to try!" She exploded, her hand working its way to her mouth.

"No." Henry said firmly. "No mattress surfing."

"I take it you had fun while we were gone?" Veronica asked, eyebrows raised.

"Maybe just a little." Sabrina said, still grinning in embarrassment. "I was bored, and I've always wanted to do that."

Veronica shook her head with a smile. "Go put the mattress back. Then we'll head out to go shopping, all right?"

Sabrina stood up promptly, then turned to carry the mattress upstairs. Then stopped.

"Elvis." She said wearily. "We're done. Get off."

Elvis gave her a very disappointed look, then got off the mattress and started nosing it towards the staircase. Sabrina grabbed the front end, and, with the help of the Great Dane, got the mattress back to her bed, where it belonged.

"Where are you going?" Puck asked as Sabrina passed him on the way to the car.

"Christmas shopping." Sabrina said. It had been a good enough day that she decided to deign to speak to him, and even be nice about the jell-o thing. "Jell-o, Puck. I know about it. Not funny. Do that again and I won't be very nice to you."

"I didn't know you knew how to be nice." Puck muttered. "I figured you'd figure it out before hand..."

"Still not cool." Sabrina said, and walked off. She had better things to do.

"Ready?" Veronica asked, wrapping an arm around Sabrina. "You might want to put on a coat, it's chilly out."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Henry said. "We're trying to keep her safe 'til this blows over, and shopping isn't exactly doing that."

Veronica sighed and said, "Henry, she needs to go Christmas shopping, and you shouldn't punish her for something that's not her fault. Keeping her home from a day of school is one thing, but this needs to be done, and soon. I'll have my phone."

"Fine." Henry gave in. "But be careful, and be home by seven."

Veronica shook her head but smiled, taking the keys from Henry as Sabrina yanked on her coat. They walked out to the car together, Veronica with her arm wrapped around Sabrina's shoulder.

"It's so nice to be able to spend time with just you." Veronica said, once they were driving. "We haven't been able to much, recently."

"It _has_ been kind of busy." Sabrina agreed.

"I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." Veronica said. "You've been very mature about everything- almost, anyway. Taking care of Daphne like that, growing up for her, and staying mature while your father was being... difficult, and I was out of it. And still being strong now. It makes me glad to have you as a daughter, but... a bit sad, too."

Sabrina looked at her mom slantwise, blushing. She'd wanted to hear that forever. But... "Sad? How come?" She asked.

"You missed out on a lot of chances to be a kid." Veronica said. "Got it ripped away from you at barely ten, and you're still not acting your age. Don't you ever want a normal childhood?"

"Well, yeah." Sabrina said. "But if we let the Scarlet Hand win, I won't have a childhood at all, let alone a normal one. I'll be dead. And besides, I can't exactly blend in anymore anyway. And I have friends now. I guess... If I could have a normal life, I'd probably take it, but... I've learned to be happy where I am, mostly."

Veronica shook her head. "Girl, if everyone learned the lessons you've learned by the time they were your age, the world would be a much better place."

"There probably wouldn't_ be_ a Scarlet Hand." Sabrina agreed.

Veronica laughed a bit, pulling over. "Well, we're here." She said. "Where do you want to shop first?"

"Ghepetto's." Sabrina said. "I can probably pick up something for Daphne, Puck, and Red there."

From there the shop was on. Presents, presents, presents! They'd finished their gift-getting by around six thirty and were, if not utterly shopped out, ready for a break. Not only had they been walking around for ages carrying bags and stuff, they were also explaining what was up with Sabrina to the people they met, and trying to avoid Scarlet Hand members, though Sabrina could tell her mom was itching for a fight (they got the same look on their faces).

"Well, how about we break for dinner?" Veronica suggested, dropping their bags into the minivan. "You pick the restaurant."

"Is anyplace open but the Blue Plate Special and Sacred Grounds?" Sabrina asked, raising her eyebrows. "And the Golden Egg, I guess. I mean, ones that aren't run by the Scarlet Hand. I thought the rest closed out when the humans got run out of town..."

"They probably did." Veronica agreed. "But that's still three for you to choose from."

Sabrina thought for a minute. "The Blue Plate Special." She said. "I'm in the mood for blueberry cobbler. Plus it's close." She nodded to the diner, which was within view.

The two walked over and sat down. Blue Farrah was the only regular waitress now, with a few other everafters part-timing it for extra cash. It was fairly crowded, because the Blue Plate Special had the interesting distinction of being the only neutral restaurant in town: Briar and Momma had both made their loyalties clear.

"Hey, girls." Blue said with a smile, popping her bubble gum and handing out menus. "What can I getcha today?"

"Hi." Veronica smiled back. "Tea, please."

"Hot cocoa." Sabrina said, opening her menu.

Blue took notes, then asked Veronica, "What kind of tea?"

"Earl Grey." Veronica said promptly.

"All right." Blue said. "I'll be out in a few minutes to take your orders, 'kay?"

Sabrina and Veronica both nodded, looking at their menus. Blue returned shortly, doling out hot drinks. Sabrina looked at her cocoa: a big mug, full to the brim, with a huge dollop of whipped cream atop it.

"Thanks." Veronica said, already pouring a creamer into her tea.

"No problem." Blue smiled. "May I take your order?"

"Turkey club on rye." Veronica said, folding her menu up and handing it to Farrah.

"Fish n' chips basket?" Sabrina asked, handing Blue her menu, too. "And the blueberry cobbler for dessert."

"All right, sweetheart." Blue grinned. "Any dessert for you, Veronica?"

Sabrina's mom shook her head. "I'm good."

As Farrah walked away, Sabrina thought of something. "Mom," She asked, "Do you know why the Blue Fairy is what she is? So powerful, I mean. There's nobody else like her: she can grant wishes like a genie or something, but she doesn't have limits on them like a genie does, and she's got wings like a fairy, but she's not Faerie or Fay..."

Veronica shrugged. "I heard a rumor she was the product of genetic splicing by a mad scientist, but nobody really knows. I mean, she tries so hard to keep undercover, nobody can ask her normally, and it's not documented. Why don't you ask her?"

"I think I will." Sabrina decided.

Blue returned a minute later, and Sabrina, determined to find this out (who knew why), asked while Farrah was handing out the food, "Excuse me, Farrah? This might be kind of rude, but... what are you, exactly? I mean, you're called the blue fairy, but you're not a fairy, really. Are you?"

Blue blinked at Sabrina a few times, then said, "Well, that is a bit rude, but I'll forgive you, since nobody's ever asked before. I'm half-fairy, actually. Half fairy and half genie."

"Half genie?" Veronica asked. "I didn't know genies could reproduce. I thought they got all... smoky..."

"Most of them do." Farrah said. "But before genies were captured they were free to do whatever. That's where I came from."

"So who's your mom?" Sabrina asked. "If your dad's a genie?"

"I don't know." Farrah shrugged. "She died in the Faerie/Fay wars. I never knew her. I never even found out which side of the war she was on."

Sabrina hissed. "I'm sorry." She said.

Farrah shrugged. "Well, I'm OK." She smiled. "I have to get back to work. Enjoy your meal!"

They did, and then Veronica and Sabrina went out to find Sabrina some winter clothes that actually fit, instead of the ones from last fall. Then they headed home.

Over the next week, Sabrina almost caught up with her schoolwork, wrapped her Christmas presents, and tried to get herself back into the groove of everyday life. It didn't work, because she got out of school before she could get used to it again. And then it was the twenty-third and Christmas break, and she was off again.


	82. Peaceful

**AN~ Sabrina's religious affiliation has nothing to do with mine. Just in case you thought it might. **

**_Naya Lopez:_ Thanks very much! :D  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Filler means I needed to get a move on to another part of the story, respite means I need a break from action scenes. :) Thanks 'bout the mom-time thing. Wait wait wait, SABRINA takes pranks well? She tried to beat Puck to a pulp after he stuck a spider on her bed! I like Bella, personally. She's girlier than Sabrina, but when she has to, she can kick butt.  
**

**_squrriel:_ Of course Farrah's backstory isn't true! I completely made it up 'cause it sounded legit, and neither MB or whoever wrote Pinocchio ever gave us a history of the blue fairy. She's just... there. Thanks, though!  
**

* * *

"So what do you want to do today?" Daphne asked, leaning over the side of the couch, arms trailing onto the rug.

"Homework." Sabrina said. She was sitting on the floor, with a pencil in between her teeth as she looked at a sheet of math work.

"That's a lie." Bella said, flipping channels on the TV. "You do not want to do homework."

"All right, I don't." Sabrina admitted. "But I don't want it hanging over my head on Christmas, either. And since Christmas is _tomorrow_..."

"This would go a lot faster if you asked Puck for help." Daphne said in a sing-song voice.

"No." Sabrina said. "I still haven't forgiven him."

"So you're punishing yourself?" Bella raised her eyebrows, still looking at the TV. "Hey! Charlie Brown Christmas is on!"

Daphne sat up quickly. "Cool! Red! Come here!"

"I'm not punishing myself." Sabrina said defensively. "I'm perfectly capable of doing my own math homework. I'm not stupid."

"No, but Puck's better." Red said, walking in and sitting down next to Daphne on the couch.

Sabrina sighed, then gathered her stuff and walked upstairs. She wouldn't be able to concentrate in the living room.

Unfortunately, on the way up, she bumped into Puck. Literally.

"Sorry." Puck said. "'Course, if you weren't such a bumbling oaf, this wouldn't have happened."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him. "_I'm_ an oaf? You're like, two feet taller than I am!"

"Yeah, well..." Puck said, fumbling for a comeback. "Umm... at least I'm not... butt-ugly."

Sabrina's face grew hot. She couldn't help it. No matter how many times she promised herself Puck's opinion didn't matter to her, it did, and she'd gotten out of the habit of dealing with his insults. It hurt when he called her ugly. She glared at him and stalked to her bedroom.

"What, no comeback?" Puck asked, following her, wide-eyed.

Sabrina simply slammed the door behind him and dropped her homework on the bed.

Puck knocked on the door. Sabrina ignored it, opening her math book and sitting down on the bed. He knocked again. She pulled her pencil out from behind her ear. Puck was still knocking. Sabrina tried to concentrate for a minute, but the knocking was digging its way into her brain. She sighed, walked over to the door, and opened it.

"What?" She asked, leaning on the door, her hand almost at the top of it- she wasn't tall enough to reach the top of the door, even with her arm stretched all the way up.

"What's up with you?" Puck asked. "I get that you're still mad at me, but no comeback?"

"I've decided that the best thing to do with you is ignore you and hope you go away." Sabrina said. "Now will you? I have homework to do. Come to that, so do you."

"I did all the fun stuff." Puck said. "I was kind of hoping you'd help with the other stuff."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "After you just called me butt-ugly? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Puck shrugged. "Well, it worked in that movie Daphne showed me... some musical on the computer or something... The chick with the big hair was called ugly all the time and she still did people's homework."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I'm not a nerd, Puck, and I have my pride. Go away and let me do my math."

Puck's eyes perked up. "Math?" He asked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Yes, math. Go away, for the last time."

"But-" Puck said, and he gave her a puppy face.

Sabrina scrunched up her nose at him. "Really?" She asked, still leaning on the doorframe. "Really? You're no good at that, by the way. Stop pouting at me."

"Let me do your math homework, then." Puck said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "That's just not normal." She said. "Nobody should like doing homework, least of all math."

"But if _I_ help you with homework, you'll have to help me." Puck pointed out.

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "This is supposed to convince me how?" She asked, but she walked back to her bed anyway, leaving the door open.

Puck, correctly interpreting that as an invitation, followed her and also sat down on her bed. "You're only that far?" He asked, looking at her worksheet in surprise. "But this stuff is easy!"

"Well, I've been getting a lot of distractions." Sabrina snapped.

But she let him help anyway, and after that, she helped him back, of course. She told him that it was because she felt obligated, and not that she'd forgiven him, but it was maybe a little of both. The beginnings of forgiveness, at least.

By dinnertime, Sabrina was almost a quarter of the way through her makeup work for school. She didn't have a due date for most of it- the teachers understood, and told her to get it done when she could- but she didn't want it hanging over her head forever, and she didn't want to be behind, either. She'd promised Granny she wouldn't do anything work related on Christmas, so she wanted to get as much as possible done the night before.

"Dinner time!" Henry called up the stairs.

Sabrina closed her book and rolled off her bed, followed shortly afterwards by Puck, joining the rest of the family in the dining room.

It wasn't often that the whole family ate together anymore, they were just too big. Usually Uncle Jake, Briar, and Red would eat in the Chicken House, and the others would eat inside. Granny had adjusted her chore list accordingly, and it worked out well, but when the three visited, it was still entirely too crowded.

Sabrina squeezed in between Bella and her dad, wondering how exactly this would work out if they ever found the baby. There just wasn't any more room at the table!

"How are we supposed to have guests?" Daphne asked, voicing a similar thought. "We'll all spunkate!"

"Spunkate?" Veronica asked, as Daphne obviously wanted someone to.

"My new word." Daphne said. "It means get squeezed to death. Like when someone gives you a really tight hug and it's way too long and you feel like you can't breathe."

"Ah." Uncle Jake said with a smile. "Well, never fear, peanut! I have a solution!" He went to pull something out of one of his pockets with a flourish, but he couldn't find it, so he said, "It's in here someplace. I'll find it later. Anyway, it's this powder that makes the inside of things smaller than the outside. I got it off the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe."

Sabrina and several other people at the table snickered at Uncle Jake, but Henry frowned. "Isn't that dangerous?" He asked.

"Not as long as we keep the windows closed." Uncle Jake said. "And probably the door, too, actually. As long as the inside stays the inside, we should be good. But if it becomes the outside either we'll get squished or the outside will get huge. Which means the whole universe. Which means the sun would probably be too far away from the planet for us to get its light, which means, yeah. It's a bit dangerous, I guess."

Puck would have been rolling on the floor with laughter by this point, if there had been room, so he settled for banging his fist on the table- which, being so crowded, meant that he shook several drinks, four plates, and a platter full of chicken. Most other people were laughing, too, but Sabrina had sobered up. She hoped Uncle jake never had to use that stuff. It _did_ sound dangerous. Her dad was right.

"All right, all right, settle down." Granny said loudly. "It's Christmas eve, and I'd like to have a nice, peaceful meal with the family, if you please."

Sabrina snorted. "With this family?" She asked Granny. "It's a nice dream, but I doubt it'll happen."

"Aunt Veronica and Bella have been taking bets on how long it takes the meal to get dis-disrupted, and who does it first." Red said, her voice a bit louder than usual, which meant the entire table could hear her.

"Well, let's hope they're both wrong, and start eating." Granny said firmly, effectively ending that conversation.

For several minutes, the majority of the conversation at the table consisted of 'pass the something or other' and 'this is good' or, in Sabrina's case, 'hey, Granny, this is normal colored!'

After everyone had enough food in their stomachs to slow down enough to talk between bites, Granny said, "Well, I thought we might go down to Friar Tuck's church this evening. He's having a candlelight service, and he's expressly invited us."

Sabrina's brow furrowed. They'd never done that before. She could count on her hands the times she'd been in a church, and her family wasn't particularly religious. She guessed it had something to do with the everafter thing- they didn't really mix too well. So what was up with this?

"Since when do we go to church?" Uncle Jake asked, swallowing a bit of food.

Sabrina blinked. That was the second time that night someone else had voiced her thoughts. Either she was getting another superpower, or she was just unoriginal.

"We don't, very often." Granny said. "But Friar Tuck did send an invitation, and I thought, why not? I always liked candlelight services when I was a girl. It was almost magical, all the people singing the same songs, with the candels..."

"Why not?" Veronica asked. "It should be fun."

Sabrina shrugged. "Sure. It'll be almost like we're normal."

Daphne grinned. "I'm game."

Bella shrugged, too. "It'll be a new experience."

The rest of the family agreed, too, and after a dinner that was only mildly catastrophic, the family all piled into their two cars and headed down to Friar Tuck's church. Sabrina noticed just how quiet it was- even the everafters seemed to be in the Christmas spirit. They had put up lights of sorts on their houses, and though they were much more magical and less store bought, they were beautiful. The Snow Queen had actual glowing icicles on her house, and Sacred Grounds had lights that spelled out different cliche Christmasy messages in red and green dancing across the front of the building, and that was just two of the examples.

They arrived at the church, and, surprisingly, had trouble finding a parking spot. It wasn't that big a lot, granted, but it wasn't tiny, either, and not a lot of the everafters had cars. But they did park eventually, and trekked in through the frigid darkness.

"Welcome, welcome." Friar Tuck smiled at them as they walked in, handing each of them a candle. "We're almost ready to start. I'm so glad you could make it. This is the biggest crowd I've had since the humans got run out. Find a seat!"

They squeezed into a pew towards the back, one of the only empty rows left, but they didn't all fit, so Sabrina, Puck, and Daphne had to find other places to fit. Daphne fit in with Snow, Charming, and the reunited seven dwarves, but Sabrina and Puck were still seatless. They finally found space with Goldilocks and the three bears, but Sabrina wasn't even really upset about being squeezed between a less-than-clean Puck and a musty Poppa Bear.

Friar Tuck began speaking soon after they sat, and Sabrina listened to the service, surprising herself with her fascination. She'd heard the story before, in movies, but it seemed more real, now. She leaned forward in her seat, resting her chin in her hands, a small smile on her face.

Puck, noticing that, grinned to himself, getting over his surprise. He'd never seen Sabrina look that... content, before.

Finally, it was time to light the candles, and the flame passed from person to person as the church lights went out. Everyone was singing a carol. Sabrina didn't know the words, and she didn't want to ruin the beauty by trying to sing along, so she just stood there, holding her candle and listening. She didn't think she'd ever experienced something so beautiful before. She wasn't going to convert or anything, but there was something about this... Granny was right. It was magical.

She stayed peaceful the whole way home, even when Puck and Bella got into an argument in the backseat. She went up to bed in a cloud of sorts, and woke up in the morning strangely happy, even for Christmas. Not excited, exactly, but happy.

"Good morning, _lieblings_." Granny said as most of them clattered down the stairs. "We're heading up to Fort Charming today, to celebrate. After you open your presents, of course."

Puck wrinkled his nose. "What for?" He asked.

"Well, it's only fair." Granny said. "They came here last year. And we can't exactly fit them all here."

"So when are we going?" Bella asked.

Daphne wasn't paying attention. She was wavering between the kitchen and the living room, torn between breakfast and presents.

"After presents." Granny said. "Let's go eat breakfast before that, shall we?"

Daphne, decision made for her, raced to the kitchen with Puck on her heels. The rest of the family followed more slowly, but they all headed back to the living room once they'd gotten platefuls of food, and spent the entire time they were eating eyeing the presents, even the adults. Then they dug in, and in the frenzy of unwrapping, Sabrina somehow ended up back to back with Puck, covered in scraps of multicolored paper.

"Hey." Puck said, looking at her over his shoulder.

Sabrina didn't answer. She pulled a piece of wrapping paper out of her hair and tossed it over her shoulder at him.

She'd have just moved, but all her presents were in front of her, and everyone else's presents, as well as clumps of wrapping paper, were blocking all exits. The feeling of peace from last night had left her. She sighed, wishing she could go back upstairs. Maybe... maybe she should forgive Puck. Make the morning a bit better.

Except he still deserved the cold shoulder, didn't he? She'd made an agreement with herself, three weeks he'd let her think he'd betrayed her, so she'd punish him for three weeks. Fair was fair.

Except he had had their best interests at heart...

She sighed. Fine. Just for today, she'd be nice. Ignoring him was hard to do and getting a bit boring, anyway. She'd go back to normal angry responses tomorrow.

Once all the presents had been unwrapped and the paper had been cleaned up, Sabrina took all her presents to her bedroom to make sure they weren't commandeered by Puck or Daphne, then went to take a shower. She came downstairs wearing a new sweater that her mom had given her and sat down on the couch to wait for everyone else to be ready to leave.

Puck was already sitting on the couch, and he looked at her, surprised. "You're sitting next to me?" He asked. "Does this mean we're back to normal?"

"No." Sabrina said. "Normal would mean I'd sit on the other side of the room 'cause you smell. But it's Christmas. I'll be nice to you."

Puck snickered. "Thanks. You're such a tactful person."

"It's why you love me." Sabrina said, leaning back against the couch.

"Hey!" Puck snapped. "That's my line!"

"Children." Granny said, coming in. "It's time to go, so please stop arguing."

"Yes, ma'am." Sabrina said, trooping out to the car with the rest of the family.

Sabrina shivered for about three seconds before turning the heat in the car up magically. She'd been tempted to let it heat itself up, but it was just too cold! She sat back once the temperature had climbed to seventy-five, a small smile on her face. The ride up to the fort was a lot more comfortable and less angry because of her heat.

They made it up to Fort Charming with no mishaps, and spent a beautiful day with all the everafters. Sabrina was a bit surprised at how wonderful it was. They were all cold, tired, and beaten down, but everyone was happy. It was kind of wonderful.

When they made it home, Sabrina sat in the living room for a while, simply enjoying the beauty of the lighted tree in the dark room, with the snowy window as a backdrop. She might have had something to do with the snow, but when Daphne had asked, she hadn't told.

When she went up to bed that night, she was utterly happy for the first time in a long time.


	83. Combined

**AN~ This is the beginning of what I refer to as the 'merger' arc, which I was really dubious about putting in. Please don't hate on me for An, I'm sorry.**

**_kgirl:_ Thanks! I don't think I'll be updating much more, three updates every two weeks or so is pretty good, IMO.  
**

**_Purpleflower23:_ Thanks! I felt there needed to be a banter-type line.  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Thanks! I don't really know what religion Granny is, my guess is she found a way to configure one with the other. And since Friar Tuck still believes, it probably works for her. I get the prank thing now. And... about Bella. :( Don't be too hard on her. She just wants to be normal! Or a doctor. You're welcome, and thank you!  
**

**_squrriel:_ Thanks! I know, when there's no plot and not much playful banter, what's there to review about, unless someone starts making out with somebody else? I love candlelight services, so I really wanted to put one in.**

* * *

"Get up, get up!" Daphne demanded, shaking Sabrina roughly.

Sabrina rolled over, too tired to notice the oddness of Daphne trying to wake her up. "Wha...?" She asked

"Uncle Jake and Mom want to try something to do with finding the baby!" Daphne said. "Come on, come on!"

Sabrina tumbled out of bed, scratching her hair wearily. "Why _now_?" She asked.

"Because the baby's been missing for _months_!" Daphne exclaimed. "Duh!"

"Not like that." Sabrina explained. "I mean it's..." She looked at the clock, but stopped turning her head once she reached the window, which was pitch black. "It's still dark out, Daphne! Why are we doing this so early?"

"Uncle Jake says we have to do it at dawn." Daphne explained. "Now come on, we have to get outside!"

Sabrina followed slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning, still in her pajamas. She stumbled down the stairs and was met by Uncle Jake, Veronica, and an equally exhausted looking Henry, who held out a plate full of toaster waffles.

"Have a waffle." He told Sabrina. "Jake hasn't told me what you'll be doing, but you might need food."

Sabrina grabbed a lukewarm waffle off the stack and shoved it into her mouth, saying, "Fanks, Dah."

"You're welcome." Henry said. "What _will_ they be doing, exactly, Jake?"

"Just standing there." Uncle Jake said, helping himself to a waffle. "The rest of us will be doing all the real work."

"Which means what?" Veronica asked.

"All in good time, Veronica, all in good time." Uncle Jake said breezily.

Daphne, meanwhile, had finished off the stack of waffles and was looking at Uncle Jake expectantly. "So what do we do?" She asked.

"You go outside." Uncle Jake said, pointing to the door.

Sabrina and Daphne went outside obediently, Sabrina looking longingly at the empty plate.

"I'll go make more." Henry assured her, and Sabrina smiled at him, eyes full of gratitude.

Once they were outside, Daphne bouncing to keep the cold away, Veronica with her arms wrapped around herself, shivering, Sabrina in a little bubble of warmth, Henry using the heat of waffles to keep himself from freezing, and Uncle Jake seeming impervious to the heat, Uncle Jake positioned Sabrina and Daphne so that they were standing next to each other, facing east, inside a white circle on the lawn.

"So what's this about, Jake?" Veronica asked. "And why did it have to be this early in the morning?"

"Well, you know I've been doing research on the Janus, right?" Uncle Jake asked. "And how they got convoluted into choices instead of prophecies, which appears to be what they did, and how Apollo got the title of god of prophesy?"

"I could probably have helped with that a bit." Sabrina said sheepishly.

"Yes, well, that's besides the point." Uncle Jake said. "I found out some stuff, and I think I know why Apollo was the main guy, and it has a lot to do with why I think Sabrina and Daphne haven't given us an actual prophesy yet. See, what I found indicates that you need three elements to form a prophesy: past, future, and present. Past and future we have, but not present."

"But we're all in the present, aren't we?" Henry asked, brow wrinkling.

"Yeah." Uncle Jake said. "But not the way Apollo was. We're _here_. Apollo could see everywhere at once, from what I'm getting. Peanut and 'Brina can see the pasts and futures of what they're looking at at that moment, but Apollo could see everywhere. And when you combine those three, you get true prophesies- the kind that aren't affected by choices people make."

"Great." Sabrina said. "But Apollo, like, died, didn't he?"

"Yes, but his power was passed on somehow." Uncle Jake said. "So we need to harness it."

"How?" Daphne asked. "If it was lost?"

"Well, I found this spell that I think, while it may not be exactly the same, should work similarly enough that it would be helpful." Uncle Jake said. "It's a spell for combining two people's powers. I think that if we took the past and the future powers and combined them together, and did it at dawn- that's Apollo's time, when the sun is rising- then we might get a sort of weak copy of the true prophesying ability."

"And you didn't tell us before because...?" Henry asked. "It would have been nice to prepare for waking up that early, Jake. And maybe to have some time to look the spell over ourselves before we agreed to it."

"Hey, there are reasonably low probabilities of side effects." Uncle Jake defended himself. "And it kind of slipped my mind..."

"Henry, if it'll help the baby, maybe we should give it a try." Veronica said, putting a hand on her husband's arm. "If there's even a little chance..."

"Don't we get a say?" Sabrina asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm all for it." Daphne said. "I want to find our baby sister!"

"It could be a boy." Sabrina pointed out. "And I'm in, too, I just want to be asked."

"All right, then!" Uncle Jake said. "You two stand just like that, and look at the sun. Daphne, do you know when it's going to rise?"

Daphne's eyes went white for a minute, then, when they returned to their normal shade of brown, she said, "Three minutes, twelve seconds."

"Thank you." Uncle Jake grinned. "That means I have time for a waffle, then as soon as the sun rises, I'll start the incantation."

"Grab me one, too!" Sabrina said, pointing to the waffle plate. When Uncle Jake blinked at her, she said, "What? You told me to stay put!"

Henry smiled a little and walked over, holding the plate out to the two girls. Sabrina took another waffle, Daphne took three. Uncle Jake took one. They stood there munching in the cold for two minutes, then Uncle Jake swallowed and pulled out a glowing yellow amulet.

"Girls, finish your food. It's almost time." He said, grabbing a sheet of paper from one of his pockets.

"What's that?" Daphne asked, pointing, then swallowed the last of her waffle.

"Cheat sheet." Uncle Jake said nonchalantly. "So I don't forget any words."

"Smart." Sabrina said, stuffing her waffle into her mouth. "I don't want to end up with Daphne's magic powers or her feet or something."

"Right." Uncle Jake said. "Listen, I should warn you, the magic will need some sort of vessel, and it'll make itself one. It might look a bit like you two, but it'll just be a container for the combined two abilities."

"So what happens if something goes wrong?" Sabrina asked. "Not that I think it will, but, just so I can be prepared."

"One of three things." Uncle Jake said. "Either we get nothing, or we could combine too much stuff, in which case we could either fuse your bodies together or create an entirely new person."

When he said that, Daphne's eyes flashed white again, and she said nervously, "I don't think this is a good idea..."

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "Did you see something?"

Daphne was about to answer, but at that moment, the sun crested the horizon, and Uncle Jake spun around, grabbed the amulet, and began reading off his cheat sheet. Sabrina and Daphne stopped talking, feeling a very odd sensation come over them. They weren't moving, but they were drawing closer and closer together, until they were simply one girl: the right side Sabrina and the left side Daphne. They stood there, arms outstretched, eyes shut, and they were in each other's minds, both terrified but calm at the same moment.

At that moment, Puck came running out of the house, calling, "I smell pancakes!" He bumped into Uncle Jake and almost plowed over Henry in his hurry to get to the food, scarfing down the last four on the stack of waffles.

When Puck bumped into Uncle Jake, he lost his place. But because this was the type of spell that one couldn't just stop reading in the middle of- it would be dangerous in ways he hadn't told the girls- he kept going. Nobody could hear the difference, but he skipped the part of the spell that specified which of the girl's features he wanted to be doubled and combined.

No one noticed, though, and as Uncle Jake's amulet began to glow, Sabrina and Daphne's merged body began to float, also glowing gold. At that moment, their eyes- one blue and one brown- snapped open, and they returned to their original spots as if nothing had happened.

The only difference was that there was another girl standing between them.

She had striped hair, half blonde and half brown, that was of a length in between Sabrina's and Daphne's, with sidebangs. She wore overalls like Daphne, but they were cut like Sabrina's jeans. Over the overalls she wore a green hoodie, and under them she apparently wore nothing. She looked to be about eleven years old, but it was an odd eleven: her upper body was slender, like Sabrina's, but her legs and hips were enormous and curvier than any eleven-year-old had right to be. One of her eyes was blue, and the other was brown, and they were shaped differently. Her nose was normal, as the sisters had the same shaped nose, but both her lips were full, unlike Sabrina, whose upper lip was just a bit too big, and Daphne, who had a baby-faced pout naturally.

Sabrina and Daphne blinked at the girl between them, and Daphne asked, "So did it work?"

"It more than worked!" The girl answered them.

Uncle Jake blinked. "Oh no." He said. He looked down at his paper, running his fingers over the stuff he'd read, and when he got to the specifications, he stopped. "I goofed. Oh no. Oh no. I'm sorry, girls, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The new girl grinned at him, with Daphne's smile. "It made me, didn't it?"

"Who are you?" Puck asked, noticing what was going on, finally. "And why is there a circle on the ground?"

"Uncle Jake was trying something to see if we could find the baby." Daphne said. "And... you did what you said you might, didn't you?" She asked him. "You combined too much stuff?"

Uncle Jake nodded, staring at the new girl.

"You didn't." Sabrina snapped. "After Daphne_ said_ she had a bad feeling about it, too! We could have waited 'til tomorrow, but no! And it was 'cause Puck bumped you, I bet!" She glared at everyone for a minute, then turned to the girl. "So you're, like, half me and half Daphne, right?"

The girl nodded. "I have half of your memories and half of Daphne's. Half of each of your superpowers, too. But I don't have a name yet. Can I have a name?"

"Daphbrina?" Uncle Jake suggested.

"Saphne?" Henry asked.

"Dabrine?" Daphne crossed her arms and looked thoughtfully at the girl.

"Saphna?" Veronica snickered.

"How about just An?" Sabrina asked. "It sounds less like a crazy combination of both our names, and it's got the letters we both share in it."

The girl smiled again, and Sabrina did a double take. It was almost like being back in Moth's body, seeing her mannerisms on someone else. But they were Daphne's mannerisms, too. "I like it." The newly named An said.

"Come inside, An, and we'll get you some breakfast." Henry said.

An followed her... well, sort of her dad... into the house, and so did Veronica. Sabrina, Uncle Jake, Daphne, and Puck stayed outside.

"This is wrong." Puck shook his head. "Can't you undo this?"

"Not without a spell." Uncle Jake said. "And that might take a while to find. And even if I did, I'm not sure I should. We'll have to test it to see."

"What do you mean, you're not sure if you should?" Sabrina asked. "Why should you? She's a real person, right? I mean, this is creepy, but..."

"That's the thing." Uncle Jake said. "I'm not sure if she's actually a person or just has your personalities. Theoretically, she's just a vessel for the things we combined about you two: in this case, everything. But I'm not sure if her soul was replicated. If it was, then we can't really destroy her, because that would be murder. I mean, it shouldn't be possible, but stuff happens, and with you two being so strange, I don't know. If she's just a vessel, I should be able to find a spell to undo her. But I have to watch and see, first."

"So we're observing to tell if she has a soul?" Daphne asked. "I don't think I like her..."

"You've seen her for five seconds, how can you tell?" Sabrina asked. "Except, I don't, either."

Puck shook his head. "It's just wrong. Sabrina and Daphne are separate. Seeing them together..." He shook his head. "It's like someone merged my little sister and my worst enemy."

"Thanks." Sabrina said dryly. "Love you, too."

"I know." Puck grinned at her. "How could you not?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes and walked inside. "Whatever, Puck. Think what you want."

* * *

The day was spent getting to know An. Most of the family didn't quite seem to know what to do with this girl who knew so much about them, and a few were openly hostile.

"Puck!" The Sabrina/Daphne voice called as he walked down the hall. "Wait up!"

Puck stopped with a sigh, waiting for An. Eight hours and already he was sick of her. He hoped she didn't have a soul, so Uncle Jake could get rid of her.

"Hi, hi Puck." She grinned, channeling Daphne.

"Hi." He said. "What do you want?"

"You." She said simply.

Puck blinked. His brain didn't work for a minute, before he processed that one of the Grimm sisters must like him. Then he shuddered, realizing that that meant that this... thing... had a crush on him. "Thank, but not interested." He said.

"What?" She asked. "You want the original? Sabrina. I knew it. Daphne saw it."

"Whatever." Puck said, turning to walk away.

"She doesn't love you, you know." An called after him.

Puck stopped.

"She said it." An continued. "And I remember. She wasn't lying."

Puck turned to her slowly and said, "Well, then, you don't, either." Then he walked off.

He bumped into Sabrina and Bella around the corner of the hallway.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Nothing." Puck said. _She just told me how you really feel about me._ "She just..." He shook his head, then exploded, and said, "Sabrina, I think your sister has a crush on me!"

Sabrina blinked at him for a while, then asked, "Come again?"

"Wait, what makes you think_ Daphne_ likes you?" Bella asked.

"She was all like, 'I want you,'" Puck started, waving his arms around, "And then she was like, 'fine, go back to Sabrina! But she told me she doesn't love you!' So if An is inside Sabrina's head, then it's obviously not her, and since she's half Sabrina and half Daphne..."

"Sure." Bella said. "That totally makes sense..." _Not._

Sabrina shrugged, fighting down a blush of relief. "Daphne might like you, Puck, but don't get freaked out over it? She'll probably grow out of it. And if she doesn't... Well, she hasn't told you yet, so..."

Puck smiled at her a bit. "Thanks. Hey, at least she didn't say _you_ like me. Imagine how awkward _that_ would be!"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Real awkward. Good thing, huh?" She wasn't sure if she was glad An had taken her words out of context or just upset at his reaction.


	84. Duality

**AN~ I was originally going to do a lot more with An, but I don't like her so much anymore, so she's not going to be around for very long.**

**_ANannyMouse:_ An is a vessel with no soul and a plot device. Daphne does _not_ like Puck. But An is skewing a conversation where Sabrina told Bella that, while she _liked_ Puck, she wasn't in love. Also, no on the losing thing. They got doubled. Nobody's normal, but Bella wants to be average, 'cause she's never been, and she thinks it looks more fun than being killed all the time.**

**_Agd:_I don't like her, either. She's most likely going to die.**

**_squrriel101:_ Thanks! Hey, did you spell your name so that it wasn't squirrel on purpose?**

**_Naya Lopez:_ Thanks much! I'll work on getting an update soon, but I can't promise anything, 'cause I have finals next week.**

* * *

Over the next week, Uncle Jake came to the hesitant conclusion that An was, in fact, soulless. He wasn't positive, but the girl, though she acted like a combination of Sabrina and Daphne should, was rather distant with everyone and cruel, as if she didn't understand their feelings. Sabrina and Daphne were still weirded out by their quasi-sister, Puck and Red were avoiding her altogether, and Bella, Granny, and the parents were only being nice to her because they didn't feel like they could do otherwise.

Now they were back in school, and An was going with them. Sabrina and Daphne sat in the backseat with An between them, not by choice.

"You know, you two get along a lot better than I remember you doing." An said conversationally.

Sabrina and Daphne blinked. "Say wha?" Daphne asked.

"Most of my memories are of you two being mad at each other." An said.

"Weird, we're not usually mad at each other at the same time." Sabrina said. "Hey, An. Do any of your memories overlap? Like, do you see any scenes from both my point of view and Daphne's?"

An nodded, and Sabrina frowned thoughtfully, storing the information in her head for later. They had arrived at school, and all piled out of the car, only to be met by Pinocchio.

"Hello." He said, sounding less sullen than usual. "My father implied that it might be prudent to supply your family with yuletide merriment in the form of gifts." He held out several wrapped packages and said, "There's one for each of you."

"Oh, well, thank you, Pinocchio." Veronica said.

An peered at him and said, "I remember you."

Pinocchio nodded. "You're new. A combination of Sabrina and Daphne, it would appear from a surface analysis."

An nodded, smiling. "That's right!"

The two walked off together cheerfully, and Sabrina shook her head, unwrapping her present: a marionette that a lot like her. The rest of the family received their own, even An- something else that made Sabrina wonder- but she didn't have time to think about that, because Bella made a_ tch_ noise.

"Wassup?" Sabrina asked, looking up."

Bella pointed at An and said, "She's a ho!"

"Like, a shovel?" Daphne asked. "Did you just make up a word?"

Sabrina shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Daph. Ho's an insult."

"But what does it mean?" Daphne persisted.

Bella snickered. "Have fun explaining that one."

"I should make you define it, since you said it." Sabrina said, then, turning back to Daphne, said, "It's a word that means a girl that can't pick one boy, and it's one you should never use, 'cause it's insulting."

Daphne nodded. "OK." She seemed a bit distracted, because she was looking at the reason for Bella's pronouncement. An was flitting between Art, Tim, Pinocchio, and, rather frighteningly, Robin Hood, who was at the school to teach an archery class.

"So which one of you has the hots for Robin Hood?" Puck asked from behind the two girls.

Daphne shook her head. "Not me." She made a face. "He's _old_."

"Well, I don't like him, either, so..." Sabrina said. "But, Daph, technically everyone in this town is a couple hundred years old."

"Yeah, but he _looks_ like he's our dad's age." Daphne said.

"Everybody ought to have a crush on an older guy at least once in their life. Or older lady." Bella said. "It's a rite of passage."

"A what?" Daphne asked.

"A rite is like a ritual." Sabrina explained. "So a rite of passage is something you have to do to be considered for something else:adulthood, in this case."

"Still doesn't explain why An's on top of him." Puck said. "Or Pinocchio, for that matter."

"All right, so I may have had the teensiest crush on Robin Hood when we first met him." Sabrina rolled her eyes, "But I'm over him now. But the Pinocchio thing I'm guessing is just 'cause she's smart and gets that nobody really likes her, and nobody really likes him, either. I felt bad for him."

"So if you're over him, why is she still going after him?" Daphne asked.

Sabrina blushed and shrank into her shoulders, saying, "'Cause I maybe still find him... attractive."

Bella nodded. "I'll give you that."

Red wrinkled her nose. "You can find someone cute that you don't have a crush on?"

"Heck yeah!" Bella said, "And that, my dear, is _quite_ a nice male specimen right there."

"Hokay." Puck said loudly. "On that note, I'm leaving."

As he walked away, Daphne asked, "Why isn't she chasing after Puck? And why doesn't he get that Sabrina likes him?"

"Because I don't?" Sabrina suggested.

Bella answered seriously, saying, "She did. He turned her down, and she was all like, 'Sabrina said she doesn't love you,' which did happen, but that was taken totally out of context, and didn't mean what he thought it meant, so now he thinks _you_ have a crush on him."

Daphne made a face. "Ew. He's like a big brother."

The conversation was ended by the ringing of the bell, and an extremely awkward day began. Very few people liked An, and even Snow, who was nice to everyone when she wasn't training them, couldn't smile at the awkward in-between girl. The one thing Sabrina and Daphne had been really worried about, becoming superfluous with a girl who was both of them present, never happened because nobody liked An except Pinocchio, who had become fast friends with the girl. It also helped that An couldn't make prophesies like they thought she could. She hadn't even gotten those powers. However, it was several days before Sabrina noticed the unusual activity around An and Pinocchio and brought it to Uncle Jake's attention.

"What's up, 'Brina?" He asked, sitting in the kitchen of the chicken house as it wound its way through town for groceries.

Sabrina took a deep breath and said, "I think An is going to join the Scarlet Hand, if she hasn't already."

Uncle Jake blinked at her. "Um, Sabrina... I don't think that makes sense. I mean, she's you and Daphne, right? So how could she be evil?"

"Look, trust me on this." Sabrina said. "I know my own mind, all right? And I'm not a great person. Anyone that's half me is _going_ to have a dark side. Same with Daphne. Neither of us is all sunshine and butterflies. I never was, and now I'm worse. I mean, I thought about joining the Hand, to save the family. And..." She took a deep breath. "I think your spell was tampered with. So that she got Daphne's and my darkest parts."

"Back up a minute." Uncle Jake requested. "What?"

"I know the thing was an accident." Sabrina said. "Making her. But I've been asking her about her memories, and she got _all_ my bad memories. There are some good ones, too, but every time I was angry, or hurt, or scared, she got. And Daphne said the same thing. What are the odds of that?"

Uncle Jake took a deep breath and sighed. "All right, I'll trust you on this. I'm also almost positive that she doesn't have a soul. I've been looking for a spell to undo her yet, and I think I'm down to my last options- I'll need you to come with me, though."

"Why?" Sabrina asked.

"Two reasons." Uncle Jake said. "One, just in case you're needed for the spell, and two, because it's Morgan Le Fay, and I don't trust myself around her, but I do trust her more than Bunny, who was my other choice."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "That makes sense. Hey, just out of curiosity, where did you get that spell?"

"Out of one of Baba Yaga's books, the dangerous ones Granny's been keeping in Mirror." Uncle Jake said.

* * *

When they got home, they were met by a crowd in the living room, centering around an unhappy Ghepetto.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked, rushing into the living room.

"My boy." Ghepetto sobbed. "He is gone!"

"Pinocchio and An have both gone missing." Granny explained.

Uncle Jake grabbed Granny's arm, then nodded at Daphne, Henry, and Veronica. They all followed him into the kitchen. Sabrina stayed behind 'cause she already knew what they were going to talk about. The news that Pinocchio was a traitor was sad, but not surprising. Maybe if Ghepetto hadn't treated him like a child all the time, he wouldn't have left. She tried to help Bella and Red comfort him while Puck watched, all of them waiting for the others to return.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Granny came up to Ghepetto and said, "We think An has joined the Scarlet Hand and dragged Pinocchio along with her."

Ghepetto started sobbing again.

Granny continued, "Don't worry, we'll get your son back, I swear. Jake is taking the two girls to look for a solution right now."

Uncle Jake nodded, and Sabrina and Daphne stood to follow him. Veronica joined them, and Henry tried to, but he was stopped.

Veronica shook her head at him. "Uh-uh, buddy. I'm not having you go to Morgana's house. You know what she does to men."

Henry sighed, but relented. He was replaced by Briar and Granny, though, who, in unison said, "We're coming, too."

"I'll stay here with these three and hold down the fort." Henry said, resigned.

The others ran out to the chicken house leaving the three everafter children and Henry with Ghepetto, then sent the house full speed ahead to Morgan Le Fay's house.

"What did you guys say that got Dad so accepting?" Sabrina asked. "I thought he would have argued against Daphne and me going."

"An knows almost all our secrets." Daphne said. "And Dad knows that if those get out, then we're not going to be safe."

Sabrina nodded. "That's true enough, I guess. Oh gosh. Oh gosh! She knows where Charming's for is! We have to tell them!"

Daphne pulled out her sword- Sabrina didn't have one anymore: hers, Puck's, and Red's had all been captured by the Scarlet Hand- but Daphne could still use hers. She ran her finger over the jewel and said, "Dad."

Henry's face appeared in the gem. "What is it, sweetie?" He asked.

"You have to get in touch with the fort." Daphne said. "An knows where it is, and she could tell, and they have to be ready!"

Henry nodded. "I'll send Puck out there as a warning."

The connection cut off, and Daphne was left saying, "I love you," to a gemstone.

Veronica put her arm around her shoulder. "You can tell him when you get home."

"But what if I don't _get_ home?" Daphne asked, and suddenly she was wailing into her mother's shirt. "What if we die? Or get kidnapped like Sabrina did? What if I never get to tell him I love him again?"

The others stared at Daphne as she cried, confused about where this had come from.

"What?" Daphne sniffed, seeing them looking at her. "Do you think I don't know how dangerous this is? I know we could die. I see it every. Day! I try to stop seeing the future, but I can't, and half the time it's someone _dead_, and I hate it! I just want this to be over."

Sabrina leaned in and hugged Daphne, too. "That's not what I was staring for,you know. I was kind of wondering where that came from, actually."

"Me, too." Uncle Jake volunteered.

"Oh." Daphne giggled wetly. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I've just been so stressed, with An, and with school, and Art and Tim and everything."

"I didn't know you were feeling stressed." Sabrina said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I dunno." Daphne shrugged. "I guess I thought you had enough to worry about."

"Daphne." Veronica said, squatting down to her daughter's level and putting a hand on the nearby couch to steady herself in the rocking chicken house, "You can always tell us about anything that's worrying you, OK?"

Daphne nodded. "It's just... I don't want to tell you when I see you dead, 'cause you'll all freak out, and that might be _why_ you die. Ms. White told us about self-fulfilling prophesies in school, and I don't want you to think that just 'cause I saw you dead once it means you'll die. Usually it doesn't happen, anyway."

"But if it's worrying you so much..." Granny said.

Daphne shook her head. "Normally I can deal with it, it's just the other stuff on top of everything."

"What other stuff?" Sabrina asked.

Daphne looked around at the others in the room and said, "I'll tell you later, OK?"

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

"Good, 'cause we're here." Uncle Jake said, as the chicken house wobbled to a halt.

They all climbed out of the house and into Morgan's apartment building. Briar knocked on the door cautiously.

"This is _so_ dangerous." Briar told them. "There could be an ambush waiting for us inside. We should have called her and asked her to come over to help us out, instead of turning up uninvited."

"She'll probably need her stuff to do the spell." Granny said. "If, of course, she can."

"Where will we try if she can't?" Sabrina asked.

"Bunny, I guess." Veronica shrugged. "Or The Three."

"Aren't most of them in the Scarlet Hand?" Briar asked.

"She's taking her time to answer the door." Daphne noticed. "Maybe we should knock again."

But at that moment, the door swung open and Morgan peered out. "Oh, hello." She said with a smile. "I was afraid you were Hand."

Sabrina elbowed Daphne and said, "So much for seeing the future, huh?"

Daphne stuck her tongue out at Sabrina and walked into Morgan's apartment, nose in the air.

"So." Morgan said, once they were all in the living room. "What brings you here? I assume it's not just a social visit?"

"No, it's not." Uncle Jake said. "Have you heard about our situation?"

"Which one?" Morgan asked.

"He used a spell in one of Baba Yaga's books, but it was tampered with, and instead of getting the desired result, we got a nightmare." Granny said.

"Oh, the An girl." Morgan said knowledgeably. "Yes, I'd heard about her."

"Well, we were wondering if you might have a spell that could unmake it." Veronica said.

"We're almost positive she doesn't have a soul, and that it won't be killing someone." Uncle Jake said. "She acts like a copy of Sabrina and Daphne, not like the two of them together."

"I might be able to find something." Morgan said. "Why now, though?"

"She disappeared, and we think she ran off to join the Scarlet Hand." Sabrina said wearily.

"Oh." Morgan said, and Sabrina was forever grateful that she didn't ask why they thought that. Maybe Morgan had thought about joining, too.

Morgan bustled off to another room and returned a few minutes later with a tray full of mugs and a stack of musty-looking books.

"Here." She said. "It's cold, even for January. Have a drink while I look. I might have some cookies, too, if you're hungry."

"Hungry?" Daphne asked. "Of course!"

Morgan laughed. "I'll go get the cookies, then."

"I'll help you!" Uncle Jake said, jumping up. "I mean, with researching, not with cookies. I could help you get cookies, too, but I think you'd rather I help with research. It's probably harder, and... I'm going to sit down now."

"Smart." Briar said dryly. "_I'll_ help you, Morgan. Jake will sit in a different room than you and try to control his hormones."

Morgan laughed a little and said, "Sorry. I don't mean to do it."

Three boxes of cookies and two hours later, Morgan came back into the room holding a book. "Found it!" She called triumphantly.

"Good." Sabrina said. "I keep thinking about how much trouble she could cause in this time."

"Do we need her here for it?" Uncle Jake asked.

"No, it's just an undo." Morgan assured him. "All you have to do is read it backwards."

"Why couldn't they have _written_ it backwards?" Daphne asked, brow wrinkling.

"Too simple." Sabrina said.

Uncle Jake read it, then asked, "How... how do we know it worked?"

"We don't." Morgan said. "But if the Scarlet Hand suddenly knows all your secrets, then we will. Oh, hey, I've been meaning to ask, what did you want that spell for?"

"We've been trying to find my third child." Veronica said. "We think the Scarlet Hand has him... her."

"Well, why didn't you say something sooner?" Morgan asked. "I have a spell that can do that!"


	85. Family

**AN~ Christmas present for y'all. I meant to get it up earlier, but it kind of stalled out in the middle, and it took me a while to get it going again. Finals are OVER! I don't have to do any schoolwork 'til the 19th!**

**_Eponine Thenardier: _Thanks! I hope you have a merry Christmas, too!  
**

**_CUDDLY CUTIE:_ Thanks!  
**

**_Agd:_ You and your logic. Gosh. Throwing off my groove here! :) My theory was, she had the bad parts of their personalities, but not the spark that drove them, which meant she could think and want and all that, but she couldn't _care_. Like, the only emotion she felt was want, and the rest was just acting like the girls do... on a bad day.  
**

**_babef**k of chapter 12:_ Sorry, had to censor your name. We've got kids reading this. I'm confused. I translated your comment from Hindi with Google, and who exactly are you referring to as a 'hot babe'? Kind of hope it's not me, considering your username...  
**

**_Naya Lopez:_ Thanks! Glad you liked it! And I hope finals went good.**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Thanks! :D You didn't come across as nasty, 'cause I don't like An, either. I think I might have, once. I have NOT seen that BBC show. My friend watches it with her mom and says it's awesome.  
**

**_JOSIE:_ Nice? An has no soul. She's like, a robot, kind of. She acts like a person, but she's not, really. Also, what did you mean by 'how could they be rude'?**

* * *

Granny, Sabrina, Daphne, Veronica, Jake, and Briar all stared at Morgan and, in concert, asked, "_WHAT?_"

"I have a spell that lets you find your blood relatives." Morgan said. "It works best for children, siblings, and parents, but it's OK for other things. I used it on Arthur back in the day, but now I mostly use it to keep track of Mordred. Don't tell him, though. He'd be furious!"

"Sure, sure, sure, we won't tell." Veronica said hastily. "Just... can we use it, please? Or can you do it for us?"

"Absolutely." Morgan said. "I'd have let you have it ages ago if I'd known."

"It's_ just_ for blood family?" Briar asked quietly.

Morgan nodded. "But it should work for you, too, since marriage is 'blood of my blood'."

"Well, can we get started?" Daphne asked.

"Certainly." Morgan said. "I've got the incantation memorized, I've had to use it that often. I'll just substitute your names for mine, and we should be good to go!" She began chanting in another language, and the others listened, waiting, until they began to feel tugs in all different directions. Morgan stopped speaking, and the tugging got stronger immediately.

"So we're being tugged toward our relatives?" Granny clarified.

Morgan nodded.

"So how exactly do we undo the tug?" Sabrina asked, shaking herself all over, like a dog. "This is weird."

"Oh, just touch your family member." Morgan said, offhand. "It's simple, really. It won't end until you've touched them, so you'll probably want to do it fast, but it's strong."

The Grimms all went around touching each other for a minute, and when they were finished, they were left with a higher number of tugs than they'd expected. Daphne seemed to be the best at telling exactly how many there were, and she counted eight tugs, but three of those, Uncle Jake, Briar, and Granny didn't feel, though Veronica and Sabrina did.

"You must have extended family somewhere, Veronica." Granny said. "That's the only explanation."

"I guess." Veronica shrugged. "So that leaves us with five."

"Two are coming from the same direction as home." Sabrina said. "And two are coming from that way. And there's the one lonely one. Who _are_ all these people?"

"I don't know, but we have to check all of them." Veronica said. "None of us should go alone, so... Briar and Jake, you two take the two that way, Relda, you want to go with me or home?"

"I'll go with you." Granny said. "It seems the most likely, and this way the girls can go home, tell the others what's happening, and get backup before they look for the last one."

"Glad we got to make that decision." Sabrina said dryly. "Come on, Daphne, we'll take the house."

"No you won't." Veronica said, grabbing Sabrina's shirt. "Your grandmother and I need that. You two can both fly, so you can do that."

"It's freezing!" Daphne complained. "And what if it's dangerous? We won't have our full reserves!"

"That's why you're getting backup." Jake grinned. "Have fun!"

The girls made faces, but left reluctantly, Daphne remembering to turn and call, "Thanks, Ms. Le Fay! That was very helpful!"

They flew home as fast as possible, both to keep warm and because the tugging was getting unbearable. Once inside the house, both girls ran up and hugged their father quickly, then gave him the rundown on what had happened, talking over each other.

"-And I love you." Daphne finished, then took a deep breath.

"Wow." Puck said. "I owe you congratulations. First, I think that was one breath, and second, I didn't understand any of it."

"We'll explain later." Sabrina said. "Right now we need to go... she stopped, tilting her head to one side. "...Upstairs?" She said, sounding confused.

Daphne nodded. "Upstairs."

"What?" Ghepetto asked, looking up, finally.

"We're related to someone upstairs." Sabrina said. "So we need to touch them, otherwise-"

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Sabrina said.

She crossed the hall and opened the door to see a teenage boy that she vaguely recognized from school. He had pale red hair and was a few years older than she was.

"Hi, I'm looking for a Sabrina and Daphne Grimm?" The boy said, looking with interest at her eye. "Veronica sent me?"

"I'm Sabrina." Sabrina said. "Daphne, come here! I think mom sent our other relative over for the spell!"

"Wait-" the boy said. "_You're_ Sabrina Grimm? But you're an everafter! And- you're that girl from school! Holy crap! You're the one with the body thing! Holy- you're my cousin! I hit on you! Auugh, gross, I hit on my _cousin_!"

The others had come in to the hall at the noise, and now they were all staring at the boy. He blushed. Sabrina blinked at him a few times, trying to keep her own face from turning cherry-red.

"Want to start that over?" He suggested.

Sabrina nodded, pressing her lips together. "Yeah. Let's." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Sabrina Grimm, nice to meet you. You're...?"

"Will, descendant of Jakob Grimm." The boy said, shaking Sabrina's hand. "And... which one of you's Daphne?" He looked at Bella, Red, and Daphne questioningly.

"Me." Daphne stepped forward.

Will did a double take. "Two everafter Grimms? Now? But that's impossible! The book's been closed for a century!"

"Book?" Puck asked, scratching his rear end.

"That's disgusting." Bella told him, wrinkling her nose.

"The Book of Everafter." Will said. "It tells the history of every everafter on the planet. Some people say it has the power to change things, too. My ancestors kept it for a while, but when they heard you guys had a magic mirror, they sent it this way for safekeeping."

"So it's in mirror?" Bella asked. "Maybe we should go check that out."

"Most likely." Will agreed. "Since, if they're everafters, that means the book is open, because otherwise no new everafters would exist. And if it's open, that means someone went in the room, and nobody should be able to do that, according to the letters your family sent to mine."

"This is kind of crazy." Sabrina said. "So you're saying that if it wasn't for this book, I'd never have become an everafter?"

Will nodded. "And presumably, if the book were destroyed, everafters would start aging at a normal pace."

"But they'd still be magic?" Daphne asked, and when Will nodded, she said. "That doesn't make sense. They should stop being magic, too, then."

"It doesn't work that way." Will said. "You need the book to GET the magic, unless you're born with it, but you don't need it to keep it, except for living forever."

"This is crazy." Sabrina said. "Can we just deal with it later? We're in the middle of a situation right here, and I don't want to wait any longer. If whoever it is is in our house..."

"What is this?" William asked.

"They're looking for their brother." Bella explained. "He's been missing for... going on three years, now, and they just got a spell that will let them find their relatives, and they have to go find him."

"Fast." Daphne said. "You can come with us if you want."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Henry said. "We've just met him, how do you know we can trust him?"

"I can't go, anyway." Will said. "I have to get back to my dad and my sister."

He walked off, and Sabrina said, "He's definitely related to us, Dad. I know that much. Maybe we can't trust him. But we have to go, now, so we'll talk about it later."

"We have to talk about you _going_, first." Henry said. "This could be dangerous. No charging in without a plan."

"But da-ad!" Daphne complained.

"Sorry, squirt." Henry said. "Now, first we're discussing who's going."

"Daphne and me." Sabrina said quickly. When Henry looked like he was about to protest, she said, "We _have_ to! We're the ones with the spell!"

"Someone has to stay here with Ghepetto." Bella said. "And probably not alone, just in case."

"You and Red." Henry said. "I don't want any of you alone in the house with Puck, and I have to go with the girls."

"Wait a second!" Bella said. "I want to go!"

"We need Red." Daphne said. "She was in the hand, she might be able to help."

"Did I just say I wanted to go?" Bella asked. "I changed my mind. Dangerous. Right. Sorry. Got caught up in the moment."

"I was gonna say..." Sabrina grinned at her. "That was out of character for you."

Henry sighed. "I can't let you kids go off alone. What if you get hurt?"

"Puck and Red are too useful to stay behind, and you can't really leave Ghepetto here with just Bella." Daphne pointed out. "I wish you could come, Dad, in case it _is_ the baby, but..."

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Henry was never one to be easily convinced of anything, but the kids wore him down eventually. Only Sabrina was silent, and that was because she wasn't sure which side to take. On one hand, having her dad with her would be a great help with anything, and just make her feel safer. On the other hand, Daphne was still trying to prove herself, and this would let her. After all, how dangerous could this upstairs thing be? Finally, Henry agreed to let them go it alone, as long as they promised to check in every fifteen minutes via their swords, and call if they had any trouble.

"And I'm coming up after you if you're gone more than two hours." Henry finished.

"We get it, Dad." Daphne said, walking up the stairs. "Relax. We'll be fine. We've handled worse than this before."

"And almost died." Sabrina muttered under her breath. "But hey, no biggie."

"What was that?" Red asked.

"Nothing." Sabrina said. "Just making passive-aggressive remarks to remind people we're not all powerful."

"Oh." Red said. "You do that a lot."

"Hey!" Daphne said. "This reminds me of when we first got here and we had to go to Mirror's room, but we thought he was, like, evil or something! Doesn't it? ...Except with Red."

"Red's quiet enough that we can ignore her anyway." Puck grinned.

"Shaddup." Sabrina told Puck, then turned to Daphne and said, "A bit, except we're not wearing colanders or pots or carrying kitchen utensils. And Mirror isn't evil. ...Except it's... coming... from... his... room..."

"The baby's in mirror's room?" Puck wrinkled his forehead. "Wouldn't we have noticed?"

"Not if it was _in_ Mirror." Sabrina said darkly.

"Come on." Daphne said. "We have to go."

She pushed open the door and walked inside slowly, the others following after her on tiptoe. But there was none of Mirror's usual 'who dares disturb my slumber' routine. In fact, even though they called for him several times, he never appeared in the mirror's surface. Puck was busy searching the room for a baby while they did this, but the others, deciding that something had happened to Mirror, just walked in.

"Hey." Sabrina said, sticking her head back out. "Puck. Come on."

Puck, who was looking under the bed, turned, then followed the girls into the mirror.

"-been here before." Red was saying, staring around.

"Well, of course you have!" Daphne said. "You've been living here for over a year!"

"Actually, she hasn't." Sabrina said. "Most of the time, we just have Mirror bring us stuff, remember? And besides, why would Red need to come in here?"

"I've never been here with you guys, but I have been here. Back when I was..." Red trailed off.

"Oh." Daphne said. "Oh."

"I don't like this." Sabrina said, looking around shiftily. "Mirror's not here, and the baby is _in_ here, I can _feel_ it, and Red was here when she was in the Hand, and we've been spied on from mirrors, and Granny said that when they were cleaning out Mirror 'cause we thought he wasn't safe, a lot of stuff had disappeared, remember?"

Daphne nodded. "_And_ Jack got his magic bean, even though they're all supposed to have been in here."

"The man with two faces." Red said, horrified.

"What?" Puck asked.

"The master has two faces." Red explained. "An angry face he wears sometimes, and a normal face... and lightning... He uses lightning!"

"The master sounds like-" Puck started.

"No." Sabrina said. "Don't finish that thought. It can't be. Don't say it. It's a coincidence."

"But Grimm-" Puck started again.

"No!" Sabrina snapped. "He can't be! He was my first friend in this town, Puck, and if you finish that thought-"

"Fine." Puck said. "But if we get to the end of this and I'm right-"

"How _do_ we get to the end of the hall?" Red asked, peering down it "I can't see the end."

"Puck has superspeed." Sabrina reminded Red. "If Daphne turns into something small and sits in his pocket, and you and I hang on, we should be able to get there. _If_ we have to get to the end, that is. He may not be all the way down there."

"Why do _I_ have to be in his pocket?" Daphne asked, wrinkling her nose. "It's gross in there!"

"Fine, go in my pocket." Sabrina said.

Daphne transformed into a mouse and Sabrina slipped her into her pocket, then Red and Sabrina both grabbed Puck's filthy hands, making faces as they did so, and Puck, wings sprouting out of his back, took off into the air.

"Remember, not _too_ fast!" Sabrina cautioned him. "We want to be able to see if there are any open doors or anything!"

"I _got_ it, Grimm." Puck said irritably. "I'm not an idiot."

Then they were off! Puck was going faster than he'd gone anytime he was racing Sabrina, but just slow enough that she and Red could see what was happening. None of the doors were open, and they all had labels, and none of them looked like places that would be good to hide a baby in, especially as they went further along, where the doors were much more frightening. Finally, they reached the end of the hall, where there were three doors: one a plain wooden door, like there would be on a study, one a big stone creation with a handprint cut into it, and one an archway leading to what looked like other mirrors.

"That's weird." Sabrina said. "I always thought you wouldn't be able to take a mirror inside a mirror. It just seems like something you shouldn't do, you know?"

Daphne nodded, but didn't look at Sabrina. "Mirror?" She called, looking inside the archway. "Are you here?"

"I don't know, but the baby is through this door." Sabrina said, pointing at the wooden door. "Come on, guys."

"Maybe we should make a plan, first..." Red said hestiantly.

But it was too late. Sabrina was already through the door, and the others were following after her.

Inside the room was an easy chair, a crib, and a wall absolutely full of broken shards of mirror. In the crib was a sleeping boy, about three years old, with red hair and the same nose as Sabrina and Daphne.

"Told you it was a boy." Puck muttered to Daphne.

Red, though, was just looking around. "I've been here before." She said. "It's his... his..."

"Study." Sabrina said, and her voice was completely flat. "It's his study. Come on, guys, let's get out of here. I have a bone to pick with a certain _friend_ of mine."

"I was wondering when you'd figure it out." A voice said from behind them.

They all spun, but only one of them was surprised by the sight before them: Mirror, with a Scarlet Hand print on his chest.


	86. Chaos

**AN~ I got the Grimm Guide! Thus there must be a Morgan le Fay and Seven oneshot, because that's just the weirdest canon pairing ever. Sorry for the long wait. **

_**Purpleflower23:**_** Yeah, this story has followed an... unusual plot arc. Because I'm big on exposition, apparently... Thanks, though! Why'd you send it twice?**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Thanks! The family thing: I will explain it soon, I promise. And Henry worries about everything. I choose Christmas!  
**

**_Agd:_ Yup. Took 'em long enough. And the logic thing is OK, 'cause it gives me a chance to work out stuff on paper that I had in my head.**

**_JOSIE:_ Oh. I get it. And whoa. Are you stalking me? Lol.**

**_squrriel101:_ Thanks! How was it unclear, so I can fix it? Should I just make it more obvious?**

**_Eponine Thenardier:_ Thanks a lot! :D Was the update fast enough?  
**

* * *

"Mirror?" Daphne gasped. "But why? We _trusted_ you!"

"Well, you shouldn't have." Mirror said, and he almost looked sad.

"Before we get down to this... whatever we're going to do..." Sabrina said, "Can I ask one question?"

"You just did." Mirror said. "But you can ask another before we do 'whatever,' as you said so eloquently."

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "Why? My parents, my brother... why do it? What has my family _ever_ done to you to make you do this to us?"

"You, personally, haven't done anything to me." Mirror said. "And I'll admit your grandmother has been kind. But the rest of your family has treated me like a tool. So has everyone! I've been trapped in this mirror my entire life, and treated like a servant... a slave, or a robot, even! I won't stand for it anymore!"

"So you take it out on people who never did you anything wrong?" Daphne exploded. "That's... You're despicable."

"I'm sorry, Daphne." Mirror said, and he sounded honest, "But I had no choice. Now step away from the boy, or we're going to have problems."

"No!" Daphne snapped, stepping into her warrior stance and scrunching her face up. "Why do you want him, anyway?"

"I need his body." Mirror said. "Otherwise I'm trapped here. Now _move_, Daphne. I'm being serious."

Sabrina popped a barrier into existence around Daphne and said, "Don't, Daph."

"I wasn't going to." Daphne said, and her eyes were fiercer than Sabrina had ever seen them before. "I'm not scared."

"I'm afraid you should be." Mirror said, and around him appeared a globe of lightning bolts.

Sabrina looked at Mirror, gauging her options. He'd worked his way in between them, which would have been great, since they were surrounding him, except he was surrounded by lightning, which was very dangerous. It also meant she couldn't put barriers around everyone, because they were circular, and she couldn't hold that many. She could try to protect the others, but which ones? It wouldn't be fair to choose!

She only had one choice, really, and that was to put a barrier on Mirror himself. So, taking a deep breath, she popped Daphne's barrier and placed one around Mirror's growing lightning ball.

Mirror chuckled. "You think that'll work on me, Starfish?"

"Don't." Sabrina gritted her teeth, "You. _Ever_. Call me that!"

Mirror smiled, and it was cruel. "I'll call you what I like, _Starfish_. It's pathetic, what you're trying. You think I'll be stopped by this?" He looked at the barrier around him disdainfully. "I can't be killed, Sabrina. I'm not alive. Your barrier won't stop me. Especially when I do this-"

His lightning ball expanded, and Sabrina hissed as the edges of it hit her barrier. She was still feeding it power, and she felt the energy from the tines of light brushing it, like a thousand electric shocks.

Mirror's eyes widened as he saw her wince. "Does that bother you, then?" He asked, a smile growing on her face. "Well, then..."

Sabrina glared at Puck and mouthed, _'Grab the baby and run.'_

Puck frowned, then what Sabrina had said registered, and his eyes widened. He jumped up, wings sprouting out of his back again, and flew over Mirror's head towards the crib.

But it was too late. Mirror had caused his lighning ball to explode outward too fast for Sabrina to deal with, and she was faced with a choice: drop the barrier and let Mirror get the baby or pass out trying to keep it up. Being Sabrina, she chose to pass out, but as she keeled over, the barrier popped out of existence, and Mirror was suddenly racing Puck for the baby.

Mirror won, thanks to his lightning. He grabbed the redheaded boy and turned to the rest of the room, one hand outstretched. "Nobody move." He said. "Lightning can go in more than one direction at once, did you know? And I have other resources at my fingertips, too."

Puck, Daphne, and Red froze. Sabrina already lay on the floor, unmoving.

"That's better." Mirror said. "Now, I'm going to leave here, and you're not going to move from that spot for five minutes, got it?" They all nodded, but Mirror continued, "To make sure, there's going to be a fire burning in that doorway until I'm safely gone." He was backing out of the room as he spoke, looking them all in the eyes, and he grinned, having reached the doorway, as a wall of flame hopped up between them and him. "Ta-ta."

"What do we do?" Red asked. "He's got the baby!"

"Call my dad." Daphne said, already pulling out her sword. "He can help. Or get help. And then we go after the baby."

"Before or after we call you dad?" Puck asked shrewdly.

"What do you think?" Daphne asked.

"Uh-uh." Red said. "Bad idea, Daphne. We wait for the grown-ups."

"But they won't let me do anything if we do!" Daphne wailed. "I'll have to sit here while they do all the work!"

"There's a reason for that, Daph." Puck said. "I hate to have to be the mature one, here, but you're nine. As in, not even ten. As in, you've only known about everafters for two years and you've only been an everafter for one. As in, they all- including your sister- have more experience with you. As in they want to keep you safe 'cause you're the most vulnerable. Yeah, you're tough stuff. Yeah, you can do a ton of stuff. But you're not invincible, and people just want to keep you safe. So promise me you won't go running off as soon as that fire comes-"

But it was too late. The firewall had just come down and Daphne was already gone.

"Well, I tried, Grimm." Puck said, looking at the girl on the floor with a half-smile as he walked towards her. "But I don't think there's any stopping her. So you better _wake up!_" He shouted that last part, shaking Sabrina, and then said, "'Cause I think it's time for a new adventure."

Red trotted off after Daphne, shaking her head.

Sabrina groaned, "Wha...? Where'd Mirror go?"

"He took the baby and ran off." Puck said. "We tried to stop him, but it didn'twork. And your sister ran after him."

Sabrina grinned. "She reminds me of me sometimes." Then she lost the smile, rubbing her head. "Which is probably a bad thing... We should probably follow her, huh?"

"Yup." Puck said. "Red already headed after her."

Sabrina rolled over and pushed herself off the ground slowly, wincing. "Geez." She muttered. "Why do I hurt so much? I'm not even the one that got electrocuted!"

Puck shrugged. "Guess it works the same. I mean, your hair definitely looks like you were the one getting shocked."

"What?" Sabrina asked, looking up at him, wide-eyed. She reached up and patted her hair, looking into the mirror fragments that lined the walls. "Augww!" She wailed, seeing how it stuck out in every single direction, with singed ends. "It looks hideous! Why is it that every time I fight evil I look ridiculous? In all the movies, the heronie's got perfect hair and nice clothes and cool gadgets! Why not me?"

"Because this isn't a movie?" Puck suggested. "And in real life, people don't look perfect all the time?" He looked away from her, blushing a bit, and continued, "Besides, you... you look... well... I mean..."

"Stupid." Sabrina finished for him.

"No, not that." Puck said, and looked at Sabrina, exasperated, his face bright red. "Are you seriously going to make me say this, Grimm? You're the most gorgeous person I've ever seen, even when you're a mess. Heck, especially when you're a mess!"

Sabrina stared at Puck, then, after a long, awkward silence, said, "I think the shock is messing with my hearing. Can you repeat that?"

"Oh, now you're just fishign for complements." Puck rolled his eyes, still bright red. "What I just said there will never be repeated, unless you want to spend the rest of your life with green skin."

"Then I heard you right?" Sabrina asked, her face getting as dark as Puck's. When he didn't respond, she said, "Well, let's go follow Daphne!" in a way that suggested she was looking for a way, _any_ way, to change the subject.

"Yeah." Puck agreed, and the two walked back out into the hall.

"So is that why you prank me so much?" Sabrina asked as they headed into the previously-closed and now open stone door across the hall. "'Cause I look better that way?"

"No." Puck said. "I do it 'cause you're hilarious when you're mad at me for something tiny. I mean, yeah, I pranked you. But you'd think I, like, killed your pet or something, you get so ticked!"

"Oh." Sabrina said. "I'll remember that." She looked around the room, surprised. It was plain stone, with nothing in it but a single pedestal on which stood a large leather book, its pages flipping back and forth quickly, of their own accord. "What's this?"

"The book of everafter, I guess." Daphne shrugged. "Mirror's in it already. He just put his hand on a page and disappeared."

"So why aren't you?" Sabrina asked.

"Waiting for you." Daphne said. "Ready?"

"Heck yes!" Sabrina grinned. "Except... somebody should stay here. So Dad knows what's up."

"I'll do it." Red offered.

Sabina smiled at her, then grabbed Daphne's hand. "Ready?" She asked.

Daphne nodded, then watched Sabrina expectantly. Sabrina glanced at Puck's hand, then back at Daphne. No way she was holding hands with Puck after that conversation. Not yet. Daphne shrugged and grabbed Puck's hand for herself. Sabrina took a deep breath and put her hand on the book's page expectantly.

Everything went black.

* * *

Red stood there in the room, waiting for Henry to show up, alone and scared. She danced back and forth from one foot to the other, watching the door and the book in turns.

It was lonely. She wished she'd gone in the book with the others. Or that someone had stayed with her. But none of them would had stayed. Daphne was too worried about proving she could do things, and Sabrina wouldn't stay if Daphne was going, and Puck wouldn't stay if Sabrina was going. So that left her. Alone.

There was a thunking noise in the hall. "Who's there?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Nobody answered.

"Mr... Uncle Henry?" Red asked. "Is that you?"

There was still no answer.

"Really, who's there?" Red squeaked as the thumping noise continued.

A buck-toothed face appeared around the corner of the door and Red gasped, "Pinocchio! What are you doing here? I thought you went with An!"

"She disappeared." Pinocchio said, his large nose wrinkling. "So I had to come alone."

"You were coming here anyway?" Red asked. "Why?"

"So I can alter my history, obviously!" Pinocchio snapped. "Hasn't anybodyinformed you of that? You enter the book of everafter, and you can remedy the past! So I'm going in there, and I'm going to render events so I am capable of aging!"

"But why not just ask the Blue Fairy to make it so you can grow up?" Red asked, brow furrowing. "That makes a lot more sense than going to all this trouble..."

"No!" Pinnocchio snapped. "I won't! I have had my fill of that woman, and I refuse to request anything else of her! She is unreliable and untrustworthy!"

"Sounds like you." Red muttered. "But less bratty."

"What was that?" Pinocchio snapped.

"Nothing." Red said quickly, shrinking from the look in Pinocchio's eyes.

"No matter." Pinocchio said. "I'm loath to resort to physical violence, but I can'tafford to have you hinder me, so..." He trailed off and punched Red in the nose.

"Ow!" Red wailed, putting a hand to her nose. "What was that for?"

"Hm." Pinocchio said. "It would appear that rendering someone unconscious is more difficult than I first imagined. Let me try that again."

"No!" Red exclaimed, putting her hands over her face. "Go away!"

Pinocchio punched her again, and Red decided that it was best to pretend that he'd actually knocked her out, so she crumpled to the ground and shut her eyes.

Pinocchio sneered at her and kicked her side. "Fool." He muttered, turning to the book. He glared at it, trying to make it flip to the page he wanted, but it wouldn't go. "Stupid book!" He snapped. "Why won't you cooperate?" He sighed, and stuck his hand on the book, and disappeared.

Red sat up and looked at the book, worried. They didn't know Pinocchio was in there! But how to tell them without her sword? She really needed to go find that. Soon.

She wasn't scared anymore, though, she was angry. Angry at Pinocchio and his big words and his baby attitude, angry at Mirror, messing with her new family, and angry at the Scarlet Hand for taking advantage of her when she'd been crazy. She was going to do something about it! But what?

* * *

"Daddy!" Daphne's voice startled Henry as he was making a snack.

"What is it, Daphne?" He asked, picking up his sword.

"Mirror's a traitor, Daddy, and he's- he's got the baby!" Daphne said, her face crumpling. "We tried to stop him, but we couldn't, and Sabrina's passed out, and he ran off into the book of everafter and he wants to take over the baby's body and it's a boy and can we call him Theodore and it's _awful_! Can you come here? And bring Granny and Mom and Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar?"

"Wait wait wait, Daphne, slow down." Henry said, trying to process that. "What about Mirror?"

"He's the Master." Daphne said. "He took your baby so that he could get into the Book of Everafter and... I think get the Bunny in that story to put him in his body. And he's gone and Sabrina's passed out and you need to get here fast! With everyone else! He just got in the book, there's still time to stop him!"

"OK, Daphne, I will." Henry promised. "Let me call everyone, and wait for us!"

Daphne had already cut the connection by the time Henry got to 'wait for us', and he sighed. She wasn't going to wait. He knew that. So he set about calling everyone home through his sword, which, while he still didn't trust magic, was proving very useful.

Once everyone was on the screen, he gave them the rundown of what Daphne had told him and finished, "So get home fast, 'cause we have to invade Mirror before something worse happens."

The family all gave their agreements, in various states of shock over Mirror's betrayal, and Henry went to prepare himself. He already had a sword, so that was one step down, but there were other things that weren't in Mirror around the house that he could make good use of.

"Bella!" He called. "Come give me a hand! We need to go raid the basement!"

Bella's loud sigh could be heard through the house, as well as her: "Sorry, Mr. Ghepetto, but I guess we have an emergency. Maybe you should go home, in case Pinocchio goes back there."

By the time the family was home, the basement was well-raided, and they were ready to set off, looking motley but hard-core and prepared.

"I knew I should have gone up there with them." Henry muttered to himself, leading the way into Mirror's room.

He stopped, realizing that there was a zombie walking _out_ of the room at him. "What the-"

Veronica stepped forward and sliced the zombie's head off and said, "I don't think Mirror stopped at letting himself out of the Hall of Wonders..."

"Hurry!" Granny said, barreling forward, battle axe in hand. "We have to close the doors before something worse than a few of the undead get out!"

"I thought you'd been working on getting everything important out for ages!" Uncle Jake said, running after her into the Mirror.

"Working on!" Granny said. "I haven't finished yet! I got the stuff I thought they might steal out, but not the things living there!"

"There's a frost giant in there!" Veronica said. "Isn't there?"

"Four of them!" Granny corrected. "And an ogre! And that's just the big ones! There's also about fifty vampires and two hundred various monsters!"

"But how did they get out?" Bella asked.

Her answer came when they were all in the Hall of Wonders: amidst the chaos of things that had been let out were ten marionettes with a giant key ring.

"Oh no." Briar muttered. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."


	87. The Book of Everafter

**AN~**

_**Pixiedust3:**_**Yeah, I do live in the U. S. Why? Sabrina and Puck are getting together towards the end of the story 'cause I'm cruel like that and have more fun with awkward romantic tension than actual romance. I'm glad you liked it, and thanks!**

**_Agd:_ Of course I've read book seven! How could I not? Ah. There are a lot of typos 'cause I typed it on a work computer, which is old and only has awith internet explorer for its browser. I think he just hates the Blue Fairy 'cause he thinks she tricked him. MB made him hate her, too, and never really explained, so I don't quite know...  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ This is NOT a dream sequence, but I'll fix it to try to make it more realistic. Not the Puck thing, though. ('cause I consider it only as OOC as 'you don't need the makeup' in book 6) Happy new year to you, too!**

* * *

"Oh no." Briar said again. "What do we do?"

"We have to get the puppets." Granny said. "Anything we do otherwise is just treating the symptoms and not the disease."

"Yeah, but how?" Bella asked. "There's ten of them and only six of us."

"But they're tiny!" Jake pointed out. "How hard can it be to get rid of them?"

"You guys go after them, then." Veronica said. "Henry and I will watch your backs."

"We will?" Henry blinked at Veronica, looking at the monsters that roamed the hall.

"Yes, Henry, we will." Veronica said firmly, and Henry shrugged. No use arguing.

They sprang into action, running after the marionettes. Veronica and Henry had their swords out already, and were whipping their heads back and forth, searching for anything that might attack them, but the others had their eyes on the target and were zeroed in, focusing totally. Jake was digging wands and things out of his pockets randomly, and Briar was taking half of them. Granny held her battle-axe in one hand and a broadsword in the other, though how good they'd be against puppets was debatable.

Once they reached the marionettes, the real trouble began. The little monsters were fast, tough, and pointy, and when they hit the Grimms, they _hurt_. Bella managed to stomp on the one that looked like Puck in the first five minutes of the battle, crushing his head, but the other nine were much harder to kill. They won out eventually, because of one disadvantage the puppets had: their strings.

Five of the marionettes got tangled in a knot, and Briar, with one of Jake's wands, caught another two on fire long-distance. She was going to do the same to the last two whole ones, but a shout from Granny stopped her.

"They've got the keys!" Granny explained. "And those aren't fireproof!"

"So, what, we catch them?" Veronica asked, slicing off a zombie's head. "How about more of you come help us, then, instead of that? If you haven't noticed, we're a little outnumbered!"

"Can't!" Briar shouted. "They're headed for a really big door, and if they let out what's inside- what _is_ inside, by the way?"

"Frost giants!" Granny responded. "Or an ogre! Either way, if those get out, the house is going to be a mess!"

Jake pulled out a green ring and said, "Well, I was saving this, but..."

He aimed the ring at the two puppets, which were immediately enclosed in a sphere of green light and drawn back towards Jake, struggling all the way. Jake grinned when they reached him, and pointed the ring up. The green light rose up to the ceiling.

"Why were you saving it?" Bella asked. "That's useful."

"Three uses per person." Jake said. "And this is my second one." Up to the marionettes he called, "Cooperate, and I won't smash you into the ground!"

The marionettes shouted at him. Jake shrugged, and brought the green orb down to the ground with a crack, smashing the puppets.

"That was a little harsh, Jacob." Granny said, scooping up her keys.

Jake shrugged. "They were evil. Now, shouldn't we be getting to the other end of the hall? Or killing monsters?"

Briar burned the last pieces of the marionettes, and Granny led them over to a red San-Fransican trolley.

"When did this get put in?" Jake asked.

"About ten years ago." Granny said. "I needed to get something towards the far end of the hall fast. Normally Mirror would drive it, but... Henry? Would you do the honors?"

"Sure, mom." Henry said, taking the wheel as the others clambered into the trolley.

Henry started the car up and they raced down to the far end of the hall at a speed that almost made everyone sick. Once they'd reached the end of the line with a jarring halt and everyone had climbed out dizzily, they wobbled their way into the stone room, where Red was sitting alone on the floor.

"What happened here?" Veronica asked, looking around for her children. "Where are the girls?"

"In the book." Red said, standing up. "With Puck, Mirror, the baby, and Pinocchio. They left me here to tell you what happened, and then Pinocchio snuck in, and they don't know he's there, and I'm scared."

"Wait a second." Bella said. "Mirror can't leave the Hall of Wonders, right? So how is he in there?"

Veronica's eyes widened. "Because the book is in here! But if we take the book out, Mirror will have to leave!"

"But that'll mean the baby will be alone in there." Briar said. "Will he survive?"

"That's a risk we'll have to take." Granny said, picking up the still-open book. "To the trolley!"

The family, once again, ran to the trolley, and after the hair-raising ride back, Granny yanked the book out of the mirror.

There was a boil of smoke and a flash of light, then Mirror appeared, glaring at them all. "Oh, there will be Hell to pay for this." He said, and lightning grew at his fingertips.

* * *

"Where are we?" Daphne asked.

"Dunno." Sabrina said. "Puck? Any ideas?"

There was no answer. Sabrina looked around, but Puck wasn't there. Brow furrowed, she looked around the gray little room she and Daphne were in, but there was noplace for Puck to hide, and nothing that could have taken him.

"Maybe Puck went out there." Daphne said, pointing to the door.

Sabrina shrugged and opened the door, only to be greeted by a blast of color. "Where are we?" She asked.

"Not Kansas anymore, Toto." Daphne said, matter-of-fact.

"What?" Sabrina asked, looking at Daphne in confused surprise.

"Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" A voice came from nearby.

"Oh." Sabrina said, recognizing the line. "I get it."

"Excuse us a minute." Daphne said to the short lady outside the house, then shut the door back on her. "All right," She said to Sabrina, "I think we've got two choices here: we can stick to the stories, or we can get through this as fast as possible and find the baby. Which do you think?"

"Well, it'll probably have some unforeseen consequence if we go away from the stories." Sabrina said thoughtfully, giving Daphne a small smile. "On the other hand, I have no clue how the stories go. Do you think you can copy Dorothy exactly? 'Cause I can't."

"I could try." Daphne said, but a smile was growing on her face, too. "But it might take me a while. And besides, we should probably get through this fast, to find the baby..."

Sabrina grinned. "We're going to wreak havoc here, aren't we?"

"Yup." Daphne smiled, holding out her hand five.

Sabrina slapped it and said, "Just like the good old days."

"Back when you hated everything about Ferryport Landing, you mean?" Daphne asked. "Those days?"

"Yeah, except without me hating it." Sabrina said.

"Well, let's go get busy!" Daphne grinned, pulling the door open.

"Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" The short lady asked again, looking a bit tense.

"Sorry, no time, gotta run!" Daphne called, already running down the steps, barreling through short people.

"You haven't seen a dirty blonde boy or a bald man with a baby, have you?" Sabrina asked the crowd, running after Daphne.

"Wait!" The woman called, "You can't do that! You need to stick to the story! The revisers!"

"The what?" Sabrina asked Daphne. "You do any reading on this?"

Daphne shook her head, panting. "But revising... is," she panted, "Is what?"

"Fixing a literary," Sabrina panted, too, "work to make it go... better."

"We're... we're in a book." Daphne realized. "That doesn't... sound... good."

Sabrina shook her head, still running towards the tug that was the baby's presence, which, for the moment, was following the Yellow Brick Road. She hoped it would lead them past Puck, but if not... Well, he was a big boy. He could take care of himself. ...Mostly.

"Hey, Piggies!" A familiar voice called. "There you are! Where'd you go?"

"We were in Dorothy's house!" Sabrina snapped. "Where did _you_ go?"

"I was on a big pole someplace, with a nail up my shirt." Puck said. "Who's Dorothy?"

"Wizard of Oz?" Daphne asked, looking at Puck funnily. "First MGM color movie ever? You're playing the Scarecrow? Ring a bell?"

Puck just looked at the little girl blankly.

"Runs the library?" Daphne asked, "Klutzy? Snow and I went to their kingdom a while ago when you went to Faerie? Silver shoes? The nasty short wizard that kidnapped my parents? Balloon? Giant witch robot?"

Realization dawned on Puck's face. "Oh!" He said, grinning. "Those people! I think I still have that robot someplace!"

"Great." Sabrina said, shifting her weight anxiously. "Can we run, now? I think I hear screaming."

Puck grabbed Daphne's hand, hoisting the girl up into the air as his wings popped out. Sabrina joined them in the air, and turned to fly towards the tug that signified her brother's location.

"What?" Puck asked. "The screaming's coming from that way." He pointed in the opposite direction. "I thought we were going _towards_ the scared people!"

"Heck no!" Daphne shouted. "We go _away_ from screaming people. _Towards_ baby brother. Normally I'd say we should help, but..."

"Help?" Puck asked, looking at Daphne in confusion. "No, I want to point and laugh! Maybe make them scream more, too."

"Well, we definitely don't have time for that, gasbag." Sabrina said, heading off in the right direction. "Come on!"

They flew for a good fifteen minutes, heading who knows where, when they were stopped by a roaring shout. Sabrina looked down and saw a lion bounding after them.

"Wait!" The lion called. "Wait for me! You need me!"

"Why do we need a stupid fraidy-cat?" Puck called, then snickered. "Hah, fraidy-cat. I made a funny."

"Oh, ha-ha." The lion said, miffed. "Poke fun at the lion, why don't you? See if I don't eat you!"

"But that's not how the story goes!" Daphne protested.

The lion shrugged. "It's too late anyway, the revisers are here already. So I might as well take you with me!"

"See, the great thing about this is that we can fly." Sabrina said. "And you can't. So... bye!"

"See ya, sucker!" Puck called as they flew off, leaving the lion in the dust.

"You know..." Daphne said thoughtfully. "If I were Dorothy, I wouldn't want to go home. Oz is kind of awesome! Why did she leave?"

"Daph, for the time being, you _are_ Dorothy." Sabrina said. "I think. I mean, you've got the dress and all." She gestured to Daphne's checkered dress. "So you _can_ be Dorothy and stay here forever."

"Wait." Puck said. "If she's Dorothy, and I'm the Scarecrow, that means you must be... the dog?" He snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want." Sabrina said. "At least _my_ face doesn't_ look_ like a dog's... does anyone else see that?" She asked, pointing.

"See what?" Daphne asked.

"That random door." Sabrina said, still pointing. "Right there. In the middle of nowhere. That's opening. Right there."

"Oh." Daphne said. "That door. Hey, is it just me, or is the baby through that door?"

"Seems like it." Sabrina said, peering at the door. "Weird..."

"So we go through the door, then?" Puck asked.

"Yup." Sabrina said, flying down to the doorway. "Wonder where it came from..."

Puck shrugged. "Who knows? By the way, don't be so sure about who's got the dog face around here." He grinned at her and flewthrough the doorway.

"You little-" Sabrina muttered, flying after him, "I'm going to get you for that."

There was a swirling, and then Sabrina found herself in a mass of fog.

"Where are we?" Daphne aske. "And why's it so foggy?"

"Dunno." Puck shrugged, dropping her. "And... wow, girls, what are you two wearing?"

Sabrina looked down at herself and over at Daphne. "Umm... rags, it looks like. Wanna head for that tree? Maybe we can get above the fog." She pointed at someting green through the mist.

"Sure." Daphne said. "Might as well."

They flew to the green splotch, but as they got closer, it looked less and less like a tree.

"Is that..." Daphne squinted. "That's a beanstalk. We're in Jack and the beanstalk. Which means... what does that mean, exactly?"

"I'm goinna go with we're Jack and his mom." Sabrina said. "Don't know who you are, Puck."

"The goose?" Daphne suggested. "Or maybe the giant."

There was a muffled thump, and Sabrina snickered, saying, "I'm thinking _that's _the giant. Goose."

"Not funny." Puck said, shoving Sabrina. "But we should probably fly."

"Yup." Sabrina agreed, thinking that, in actuality, _Daphne_ ought to be the goose, since she could shapeshift and all. But maybe there ws a reason the book chose who it did for each part.

"What are _you_ imbeciles doing here?" A familiar and annoying voice came through the fog.

"Pinocchio?" Sabrina asked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Attempting to remedy my history, of course!" Pinocchio snapped. "But I questioned you prior to your verbiage! Respond!"

"What does that mean?" Daphne asked, brow furrowing.

"He's going to change his story." Sabrina said, then, turning to Pinocchio, continued, "and why can't you just say, 'I asked you first'? It's so much easier!"

"However, it doesn't allow me to take full advantage of my immense vocabulary." Pinocchio pointed out. "You are simply envious of my brainpower."

Puck snorted. "Right.. Grimm may not be the brightest bulb in the tool shed, but even _she's_ smarter than you are."

"Listen, this is great and all," Sabrina said, "But we don't have time for this." She grabbed Pinocchio's arm and dragged him to the beanstalk. "You need to climb down this after us. See ya!"

"What?" Pinocchio asked. "But..."

It was too late. Puck and Sabrina had already flown off the cloud towards the ground, and Sabrina had found an axe, and was chopping at the tree.

"What are you doing?" Daphne asked. "He'll fall!"

"He deserves it." Sabrina said grimly.

The beanstalk began to fall, and a door appeared behind them Sabrina pulled it open and began to step through, pulling Daphne after her.

"Puck, grab him!" Daphne shouted, pointing at the frantic Pinnochio.

Puck gave Daphne an incredulous look, but flew up and grabbed the bucktoothed boy before flying back to and through the doorway.

There was the swirling sensation again, and then they landed on solid ground.

"Where are we now?" Daphne asked.

"A library." Pinocchio said, looking around.

"I can see that." Daphne said in a 'no duh' voice. "I meant what story."

"You're not in a story." A voice said, causing all four children to jump and spin around. "You're in my study, where you can't do any more trouble, thank the lord. You've only been in my book for two stories, and already you're changing history left and right."

"Who are you?" Puck asked, getting into a protective stance in front of the girls.

"I'm the Editor." The owner of the voice said. He was a tall old man rather like Mr. Clay, but with smaller eyebrows and a much longer face. He also looked much less cheerful. In his lap sat one of the ugliest creatures Sabrina had ever seen: a pink blobby thing with more teeth than she could count and four skinny legs.

"Nice to meet you." Sabrina said, staring at the thing. "What's _that_?"

"This is a reviser." The Editor said. "They clear the slate and allow me to rewrite the stories if they are disrupted in any way."

"By eating everything." Sabrina said flatly, putting two and two together.

"Well, not always everything." The Editor said. "But usually."

"That's awful!" Daphne wailed. "You're mean!"

"What I do is necessary and I do not enjoy doing it." The Editor said. "However, I have a request for you."

"What's that?" Puck asked warily.

"There is another person in here, causing as much trouble as you are. He's destroyed four stories already and is on a fifth one. I need you to stop him, because, though I have many abilities, leaving this room is not something I can do, nor wish to."

"Really?" Daphne asked. "You don't want to go anywhere?"

"Why should I?" The Editor asked. "I have everything I need right here. Will you take me up on my offer?"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "We need to find him anyway. But can you watch Mr. Nose over there? I don't need him on my watch the whole time."

"If I must." The Editor said with a sigh.

"He won't get out, right?" Daphne asked. "He wants to change his story. That's bad, yes?"

"Very." The Editor said. "And rest assured, he will be secure here."

"Thanks." Sabrina said, turning for the door. She opened it, and stepped out into chaos.


	88. Baby

**AN~ Oh, crap, I was supposed to do this last chapter! Sorry! Anyway, everyone should go check out KrissM3's 'A Good Life' and review, 'cause she's not feeling the love, people. And it's a good story. I know. I'm betaing it. And in what universe does a story get nominated for b****est of the year and not receive enough reviews to make the author feel appreciated? Shame, people.**

**_MrsCullen:_ I've been writing. I had to take longer to make sure I didn't rush through it, because I wanted to make sure I'd have fun with all of it instead of just the action-ey parts.**

**_kgirl:_ Thanks for the review! Sorry I took a bit to update, I was kind of at a retreat and then I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I was reading the entries for best of the year.**

**_CheersDrinkToThat:_ Sorry, but I DO have stuff to do other than write this, so I probably won't write much faster. But I'm glad you like it!**

**_Midnight Always:_ Thanks!**

**_PUCKABRINA:_ Umm... that means you like it, right?  
**

**_Pixiedust3__:_ Well, it's a global website. :) I mean, elligoat is from Australia. I don't really know how long it's going to be, but I think it's over halfway done. Oh, you're a review winner! Whatcha want?  
**

**_squrriel101:_ Thank YOU for the review! :) I missed them! And yeah, this is paralleling the books, I think I said it would a while ago. The WHOLE story isn't 'Never Gonna Happen', just parts of it. That's another reason I need a better name for it. It's misleading.  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ I review like that all the time! Helps me remember what I want to say. I didn't HATE book 8 (hah, rhyme), but it was definitely a step backwards from the epic of book 7. Thanks! I'll fix that. They are building up to something. If I was NORMAL, it would be the climax, but I'm not, so there will be more story after.  
**

* * *

"What on earth...?" Sabrina stared. "Where are we?"

"Draw your sword, sir Galahad!"

"King Arthur." Puck said, stepping through the door after Sabrina. "And you'd better draw your sword, _sir_."

Sabrina sneered at Puck, then grabbed for her waist, pulled out her sword, and, when it clanged against her side, realized she was wearing armor. "That's why I felt heavier..." She muttered, holding her sword up in the guard position.

Puck, too, was suddenly wearing armor, and when Daphne joined them, she was clothed in the silvery metal plates, also. They stood there for a few seconds, surrounded by chaos, watching the battle, before Daphne started walking through the fighters as if they were just dancing.

"Daphne!" Sabrina hissed, grabbing at her sister, "What are you _doing_?"

"Getting to our brother." Daphne said. "He's close, can't you tell?"

"I meant what are you doing walking through a battlefield like that?" Sabrina clarified. "You could get killed!"

"They're following the script." Daphne said. "We don't have to. So as long as we avoid the people who we're supposed to be fighting, we should be good."

"If you say so..." Sabrina said skeptically, following her sister.

"I do." Daphne said. "Come on! We could get the baby!"

They ran through the chaos to a big castle full with lightning shooting out of the windows.

"I think I know where that's coming from." Puck said ominously.

"No duh, Sherlock." Sabrina said, shoving the castle door open and heading for the nearest set of stairs.

Once they'd reached the top of the staircase, panting, Daphne pulled open a wooden door. A lightning bolt zoomed out of it, and she slammed it shut again. "Mirror's in there." She told the others.

Sabrina and Puck gave her incredulous looks, and Daphne, blushing a bit, pulled the door open again, more slowly, standing behind it as she went.

A burnt-looking old man stumbled out of the door and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. "What are you doing here?" He accused, wheezing. "You're supposed to be on the battlefield!"

"We have a brother to rescue in there." Daphne said. "Who are you?"

"Merlin, of course." The old man said, sounding angry despite his weak voice. "Are you with that magician? The lightning-man?"

"Not really." Sabrina said. "We're here because he's here, but we don't like him."

"Well, go stop him, then!" Merlin said. "He's playing Mordred, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he's twisting the story. I'm not... supposed... to..."

He collapsed.

"Die." Sabrina finished for him, quietly.

They stood there for a moment, staring. Daphne spoke up, saying, "I know he's not real. I've seen Merlin around town. But... it's still sad, isn't it?"

The other two nodded, and Sabrina said, "Come on. Let's go stop this."

They rushed into the room and were met by chaos yet again: Arthur, Guinevere, and several knights and what looked like servants were rushing around the room trying to get through the lightning that flickered over everything to Mirror. The baby sat in the center of the lightning, giggling and touching it, his hair standing on end.

"How on earth do we get him out of there?" Sabrina asked, feeling lost and hopeless.

Puck shrugged and said, "I dunno, but I'm just glad none of us get seizures."

And then, just like that, Mirror was gone.

"What the-" Sabrina said, staring around the room. "Is this some kind of trick? Mirror! I know you're in here!"

There was no response. The others just stared around the room in shock, looking at the baby and the absence of lightning.

"I think he's gone." Daphne said eventually. "I don't know why or anything, but... maybe we shouldn't ask questions? Maybe we should take the baby and go."

Sabrina nodded. "Puck." She said. "Grab the baby?"

"Why should I take the kid?" Puck asked, making a face.

"Because in case we get separated, we need to be able to find him again!" Sabrina said. "If Daphne or I touch him, we won't know where he is anymore!"

"Fine." Puck said, and stomped over to the toddler. He grabbed him by one arm and lifted him up onto his shoulder, saying, "Can we go yet?"

"Not until the story ends." Sabrina said. "Daphne, how _does_ this story end?"

"Mordred stabs Arthur." Daphne answered. "Then he goes off to the summerlands to be healed."

"But Mordred disappeared." Arthur complained, speaking for the first time. "Now what?"

"I'm taking over." Sabrina said suddenly. "The reign of King Arthur has ended! Sir Galahad is in charge! The end."

"I don't think that will work..." Guinevere said. "Besides, we ought to be trying to fix things! I don't want to be revised!"

"Too late." Puck said. He was staring out the window, still holding the baby awkwardly over one shoulder. "They're here already."

"This is _your_ fault!" Guinevere said, rounding on the trio. "If you people didn't keep showing up, we wouldn't need to be revised!"

"How is it our fault?" Daphne asked. "We just followed Mirror in here. And if we end the story fast enough... maybe you can come with us?"

"Daphne, I don't think that's a good..." Sabrina trailed off. "Oh, whatever. We're in enough trouble as it is."

"All right, then, I abdicate." Arthur said, lifting his crown off his head. He tossed it to the floor. "I can't do this anymore. I declare Parsifal my heir, yadda yadda yadda. Is the story of King Arthur over yet?"

In answer, a door appeared in the middle of the room. Sabrina ran for it, pulling Puck and Daphne after her. Most of the others in the room followed as they stepped out into who knows what.

"I just had a thought." Sabrina said, stepping through. "How do we get out of this book? Nobody ever explained that."

"Tick off the Editor enough that he throws us out?" Puck asked. "I can do that."

"I don't doubt it." Sabrina said. "But we'd probably get eaten before that happened."

"Guys?" Daphne asked. "Can we figure out leaving later? We've kind of... got some stuff to deal with."

The two teens turned to examine their surroundings: a toy shop, everything made of wood. The baby giggled, clapping his hands.

"So... Pinnochio, then?" Sabrina asked. "Maybe? Or is there another famous toy store?"

"No, I think it's Pinnochio." Daphne said. "And since you're sitting on the shelf, you'd be the star, then! Stop talking!"

"So who's the-" Puck asked, looking around, then down at himself. He was wearing a blue, floor-length dress. "Oh." He said. "Not cool. Not cool at all. I don't know how the book picks this stuff, but I'm sending in a complaint!"

Daphne snickered and, pulling at her leather apron, said, "I guess I must be Ghepetto. Maybe the baby isn't anyone. Or maybe he's the cat from the movie."

"So make your wish." Sabrina said, getting Daphne back on track.

"I don't want to." Daphne said. "This story is _huge_. If we go all the way through it, we'll never get home! So we need a way to make it shorter before I do anything."

"How about I just make her a real boy right from the start?" Puck suggested, poking Sabrina with his wand.

"I'm a real boy!" Sabrina said jokingly, jumping up.

"Hello, Pinocchio." Daphne said. "You'll always listen to anything I say, right?"

"Of course." Sabrina said. "Because I'm a real boy and I can grow up! Right?"

Daphne looked at Puck. "Yeah. I wish I had a real, obedient son who could age as much as he wanted."

"Wish totally granted if it gets me out of this dress." Puck said, poking Sabrina again.

"Hey!" Sabrina complained. "That hurt!"

Daphne looked around. "Has anyone seen the guys from King Arthur?" She asked. "They should be here."

"Maybe they went outside." Sabrina suggested. "Wanna check?"

"No." Puck said. "I want to find some pants."

"Suit yourself." Sabrina said. "I'm gonna go find those people."

There was a scream from outside, and the sound of loud, slobbery chewing. The baby looked around, his face screwing up, and he started to cry.

"I think we should not." Daphne said, opening the door to the rest of the house. "I think we should go in- hey, this isn't the rest of Ghepetto's house! This is the Editor's room! What are we doing here?"

The three kids stepped through the doorway, Puck still holding Sabrina and Daphne's baby brother, and the door slammed shut behind them.

"More like what are you doing to my stories!" The Editor snapped. "Complete and total rewrites, every story you stepped foot in! Not even Trixie made this much work for me, and she was in and out of here all the time! Why don't you go home?"

"We don't know how." Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. "Don't you think we'd be gone if we could get out?"

"You go through the last story and you're deposited in the outside world." The Editor said, sounding as if he thought that was extremely obvious. "Really, they're making young people more and more stupid all the time."

"We've never been here before!" Daphne snapped. "How were we supposed to know?"

"What's the last story?" Sabrina asked. "Come to that, what order are these in?"

"No order at all, but the last story is the first one." The Editor said. "How the book was made."

"Can you send us there?" Puck asked. "Without changing our clothes? That dress was just cruel."

"The book chooses the most accurate character for each person to play." The Editor said lazily, waving his hand at the door. "I have no hand in it. Now go, and take this boy with you, he's been unbearable." He pointed at Pinnochio, who stepped away from the fire sulkily.

"Takes one to know one." Sabrina whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Daphne.

Daphne snickered but said, "Thank you!" as she pulled the door open.

"Come on, bratface." Puck said, grabbing Pinocchio in his free hand, balancing the baby on his shoulder with the other.

When they stepped through the doorway, it was into a plain, mossy clearing in the woods, with no one in sight. They all wore regular clothes: a slightly too-small onesie on the baby, Pinocchio in shorts and overalls, and the other three in jeans and sweatshirts.

"I know this place!" Puck said. "We're in Greece!"

"I don't know how this story goes." Daphne said, nervous. "And there's enough of us here that we may be everyone. How are we supposed to finish it?"

"Don't worry about it." A voice said. "You're supposed to be here, just as you are."

The children spun around. Behind them in the clearing stood four- five? Four people: two tall, silvery women who looked very alike, supporting a muscular blonde man who shone in the half-darkness of the woods, and a man with two heads. On the left head was the white circle and arrow that Daphne had on her face, and Sabrina and the face on the right shared the black marking.

"You're-" Sabrina stared at them, and suddenly, she was plunged into a violent war scene, watching the two-headed man sneak up behind dying people that looked even stranger than he did, or impossibly beautiful, and sticking his hand on them. Each time he did so, there was a flash of light. She blinked, and was back with the rest of them. "You're the Janus!" She accused, pointing. "The original one!"

Both heads nodded, smiling. The one with the black circle said, "I see you were right again, brother."

"Wait, what?" Pinnochio asked, so surprised that he didn't use huge words. "But this is a historical account! We cannot be here as ourselves! We're meant to take the place of people who were here!"

"There's no time to explain." One of the silvery women said. "Apollo is dying, and he must be saved!"

"No." Apollo said weakly. "This is how it must be."

"But-" The woman said.

Apollo cut her off. "Dear heart, we discussed this. We knew I'd die today. We're here to transfer my power to the boy, so that... the oracle lives on."

"What boy?" Puck asked, looking at Pinocchio worriedly. "Not that one, right?"

"No." The white-marked two-headed man said. "The small one. The brother."

"Let me... let me touch him." Apollo said, looking up at the baby and smiling.

"May I?" The other silvery woman asked, walking away from Apollo and holding her hands out to Puck.

Puck looked at the girls, unsure. Daphne nodded, and Sabrina shrugged, so he handed the baby awkwardly to the shiny woman in front of him.

The woman walked back to Apollo, who was leaning entirely on the other woman now. He reached out a trembling hand and placed it on the boy's chest. There was a flash of golden light as bright as the sun, and then Apollo collapsed, pulling the woman down with him. She let out an anguished cry, kneeling over him.

"It is done." The two heads on the standing man said in unison.

The other woman turned back to Puck and handed him the baby boy, who was staring into space with golden eyes.

"What did he do to him?" Sabrina asked harshly, looking from the boy to the adults with accusation in her eyes.

"His prophetic powers have been passed on." The standing silvery woman said. "To the boy. He should learn to live with it soon. It's good he's so young, otherwise he'd have more difficulty. Goodbye."

"Where are you going?" Daphne called after her as she started to walk away. "Who are you?"

"I'm Diana." The woman called over her shoulder. "And I'm going back to the battles. I may be able to help."

Janus's white-marked head shook sadly. "I wish we could stop her."

"The future must happen as it must." The other head reminded him.

"If she's Diana, then who is that?" Pinocchio asked, pointing at the other silvery woman. "She looks almost exactly like her."

"That is Artemis." The dark head said, nodding towards the weeping figure. "It's true that they are often confused for each other, partially because their powers overlap in places."

"Someday people will think they're interchangeable." The light head added. "Two names for the same woman."

"Ridiculous." The other head responded. "But we digress. It's time for you to leave."

He was right. A door had appeared to the children's left. They walked out of it, though Daphne was still looking back at the man on the ground and the woman standing over him, weeping. She was still staring when Sabrina closed the door behind her and it disappeared.


	89. In the Know

**AN~ Less of a wait this chapter, thankfully. Back in the college grind for me!  
**

_**squrriel101:**_**They haven't been actually there, but back in 42 and 43 they were discussed at length. Those two chapters where I need to fix everything? Yeah. Those.**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Well, since the book changes the past anyway, it's kind of like you ARE going back in time, but replacing someone. I dunno, it's a bit of an enigma to me, too. I enjoyed Making Puck a female. And your catchphrase... while that would be hilarious, it's a bit long for a title, isn't it? And... completely unrelated to everything. Everywhere. Plus, with Granny, I bet someday they WILL eat fried elephants. But your review made me laugh, so it was worth it.**

**_Agd:_ Yup. But it was thousands of years ago anyway, so maybe it's OK? He'd be dead anyhow.**

* * *

The four children found themselves in the middle of a lightning storm. In the house.

"_Leiblings_!" Granny called from somewhere. "Oh, thank goodness! Now get away, before something bad happens!"

"What?" Daphne asked, spinning around, looking for Granny desperately. "What's happening?"

Sabrina shoved her sister down as a lightning bold shot towards her face, shouting, "Duck!"

Pinocchio was already running, half out of the room before the others even knew where to hide. Sabrina grabbed the still-spacey baby from Puck's shoulder and ran with it towards the doorway, dodging lightning as she went.

Puck, pulling Granny and Daphne's wrists, was close behind, and he slammed the door behind them, panting. "Now what?" He asked, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

"Oh, _lieblings, _the others are still in there!" Granny said, voice full of worry. "We have to get them out!"

"All of them?" Daphne asked, eyes wide. "Mom and Dad and Bella and Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar and Red?"

Granny nodded. "I took the book out of the Hall of Wonders so quickly, they didn't have time to leave before Mirror started attacking everyone in sight!"

"So _that's_ where he went." Puck said, satisfied. "I was wondering where he disappeared to."

"Yeah, excuse me for a minute." Sabrina said, watching as Pinocchio ran down the stairs. "Hold this guy for a sec?" She handed the baby to Granny and ran off after him, wishing there was space to fly.

She caught up with him in the front yard, where she was finally able to fly, and landed in front of him with her arms crossed. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Back to the place where I am welcomed with open arms, imbecile!" Pinocchio sneered. "Now remove thyself from my line of vision whilst I leave!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Okay, one, it's a really long walk. You should just go home to your dad and stop being such a brat, and two, you really think they're going to welcome you back? You failed, buddy. And they don't like it when people fail."

Pinocchio sneered at her and tried to dodge around her, but she grabbed his shirt. "Come on, bucko." She said. "I've got enough to deal with without adding you to the mix."

It wasn't that easy, of course, but Sabrina did manage to drag Pinocchio back upstairs despite all his kicking and screaming and weak punches. She deposited him in Puck's grasp, then sat down on the floor saying, "So, what did I miss?"

"Not much." Puck said, sitting on Pinocchio to keep him from running away. "We just decided that it's a bad idea to go in there."

"What we need is someone who can teleport." Daphne said. "Get us in there and get them out."

"Uncle Jake probably has something like that." Sabrina said. "He has most things we need."

"I met someone who can teleport once." Puck said, looking at the ceiling. "But he won't help us."

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

"He's... not exactly on our side." Puck said tersely.

Sabrina's fists clenched, and neither she nor Puck looked at each other. Then Sabrina blinked. "Wait a second!" She said. "I can get them out!"

Realization dawned on most of the group's faces. Then Sabrina, who was suddenly standing, made a face. "Nope." She said. "I can't."

"I hate it when you do that." Daphne complained. "I feel so out of the loop."

"What happened, _liebling_?" Granny asked. "You stopped time, yes? Why couldn't you get through?"

"I don't know." Sabrina shrugged, rubbing her nose. "But when I tried to get into the Hall of Wonders, I bounced back, like I'd tried to walk through a normal mirror!"

"We need a new plan, then." Daphne said.

"Actually, I may have an idea to get through." Sabrina said, biting her lip. "But none of you are going to like it."

"What?" Puck asked warily.

"I think I can get through if time isn't stopped." Sabrina said. As the others started to protest, she said, "Let me finish! What I'd have to do is get right up to the mirror, then start time again for just a second, just long enough to jump through. Then I'd stop it again right away, grab one of them, and get them out before doing it again."

"You're right." Puck said. "I hate that idea. And you're not doing it."

"Let's see if we can think of anything else before we do that, maybe?" Daphne suggested. "'Cause we need to get them out of there, and if that's the only way to do it..."

"Would one of you kindly explain what it is that Sabrina accomplished?" Pinocchio asked. "I have absolutely no idea what just occurred."

"She stops time, _imbecile_." Daphne said coldly, glaring at the boy underneath Puck.

"Well, in what way was I supposed to be informed of this without requesting the knowledge?" Pinocchio protested. "It isn't exactly common knowledge!"

Daphne blinked, then looked at Sabrina for a translation.

"He said: 'how am I supposed to know? It's a secret!'" Sabrina explained, then turned to the others. "So... how 'bout them ideas? Got any? 'Cause I kind of think mine's the only one that will work."

"I don't know, _liebling_." Granny said doubtfully. "I don't have any other ideas, but this seems very dangerous."

"It's not as bad as it seems." Sabrina assured her. "When I went in there, there wasn't even any lightning or fire outside the mirror. There was a lot inside, but he wasn't looking anywhere near me. I think I'll be fine."

"But... so many times?" Granny asked. "It's too much of a risk."

"I can do it in three, maybe two goes, if I work it right." Sabrina said. "And this is the only plan we have!"

Granny sighed. "Fine. But be careful. Promise me!"

"I promise." Sabrina said, stopping time again.

She walked past the frozen people, giving Puck's face, frozen in protest, a twisted smile as she went. Yanking the door open, she walked to the mirror, placed her hands on it, and took a deep breath. Leaning all her weight on it, she started time again, just for a second, stopping it as soon as she fell through. She nodded, safe again as the only one moving in the world, and turned to survey the scene in front of her.

Mirror was half-turned in her direction, looking for the source of the noise, his hands pointing to her family, frozen mid-run in the wrong direction as lightning bolts, jagged lines of danger in the air, stretched towards them. That was bad, that he was looking. It meant that he would see when she brought people out.

"Change of plans." She said to herself, and walked to her mother, who was closest, pulling Red behind her.

She touched them both and explained things to them, then walked them to the portal to outside and released them. Then she did the same for the others, leaving them all at the entrance to the Hall of Wonders in a clump. Once everyone was there, she wormed into the center of the group, touching all of them, and said, "Jump."

She started time.

"What on-" Mirror shouted, turned all the way, now.

Everyone jumped through the portal, and Sabrina stopped time again. They were out.

She waited 'til they were out in the hallway again before starting time for good then, breathing heavily, grinned at Puck. "See?" She said. "I was fine."

"I think that was incredibly dangerous of you, Sabrina." Henry said tightly. "And if Puck was worried, he was right for once. You shouldn't have done that."

"Henry." Granny said. "We discussed it, and it was the only way we could think of to get you out. I trust Sabrina. Maybe it's about time you start, too. She's a very capable girl."

Sabrina looked at her feet, blushing with pride. Granny thought she was capable!

"That doesn't change the facts, mom." Henry said. "Shes a twelve year old girl. I want her to live to be much older than that, and sending her into danger isn't going to help!"

"The facts, Hank." Uncle Jake interrupted, "Are that Sabrina is very talented with rare gifts, and she should take advantage of them before they're gone!"

Veronica, who had been standing there holding the baby ever since she'd seen him, looked up at the two men and said, "Does it matter? We're all safe, and I have my baby back!"

Henry took a deep breath, nodded, and joined Veronica in holding the little boy tightly.

"Why is he so... spacey?" Bella asked, peering at him.

"That's a long story." Daphne said. "Can we not worry about it quite yet? He'll be fine in a few days."

"We hope." Sabrina muttered, thinking about how long it had taken her to adjust to seeing the past.

Puck slapped her lightly and jerked his head at her family. Sabrina blinked at them, and realized that almost everyone was involved in hugging the little boy except her. She shrugged and went to join them, a smile growing on her face.

* * *

They named the baby Basil, after his grandpa. Daphne was right, and after a few days, he _did_ recover, bouncing around like a normal three-year old. He didn't talk much, or know how to, and seemed a little sad, but other than that, there were no ill-effects from his time with Mirror that anyone could see. Veronica and Henry had dropped out of Snow's school to take care of their newly recovered offspring, and they were bonding quite well.

Spring came, and with it, Sabrina's fourteenth birthday. Not much had happened since then- the Scarlet Hand seemed to be nursing its wounds from the Grimm's discoveries, and the Emerald Foot was still training and trying to come to grips with the identity of the Master. The Hall of Wonders hadn't been entered since then, and Mirror's room was covered in every magical barrier they could think of. They couldn't stop him from using the things they hadn't been able to get out, but they could keep people from getting to him.

Shortly after her birthday, Sabrina found that she couldn't control the weather anymore.

It happened on a rainy day, just warm enough that nobody wanted to drive to school, but ugly enough that they didn't want to be outside, either.

"Sabrina?" Bella asked. "Can you... dry it up a bit? My hair's getting frizzy."

"Sure." Sabrina said, and squinted at the sky for a minute. Nothing happened. She glared harder, but still no response. "That's weird." She said, brow furrowing. "I wonder..." She let the barriers around her power fall, and remembered earlier that day, how Puck had hidden a half-open canister of banana pudding in her underwear drawer. She got angry, but the temperature didn't rise. Finally, she put her barriers back up and shook her head at Bella, defeated. "I can't." She said.

"You what?" Daphne asked.

"I can't." Sabrina snapped. "I lost my power. It's gone. Kaput. OK?"

"Gosh." Daphne sulked. "No need to be so snotty about it."

Sabrina flew off silently, grateful she was carrying Red today, and not someone else. Red would let her stew all she wanted.

It wasn't that she was brokenhearted about losing her power, it was just... hard to deal with. It had come out of nowhere, with no warning, and she'd _liked_ being able to control the weather. It was useful, and fun! Besides, her first loss was a bit of a wake-up call, a reminder that she wouldn't stay super=powerful forever, and that she'd have to start learning to work without her abilities. She'd be almost normal again.

Wasn't that a good thing, normal? She'd missed it so much before, but now... she liked being powerful. It made her feel safe.

"You OK?" Red asked, suddenly.

Sabrina nodded and smiled slightly at the other girl. "Yeah. Mostly, anyway. It's just... it was kind of sudden, you know?"

Red nodded. "But you're not sad or anything?"

"A bit." Sabrina responded. "I mean, who wouldn't be? But I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"OK." Red said. "We're kind of here, by the way." She pointed down at the school, where a few of the students were milling around.

"Oops." Sabrina said, blushing a bit. "I didn't realize I was thinking for that long..."

"It's OK." Red said. "I figured. That's why I said something."

Sabrina flew down to the covered school entrance, touching down with skill. She could still fly, at least. Red's landing wasn't as smooth, but she didn't fall flat on her face anymore, at least.

"Hello, dearest cousin." William smiled at her sarcastically. They'd become friends since their meeting, once they'd both gotten over the awkwardness of William checking Sabrina out back when Moth was in her body, and he, his father, and his younger sister were now regular guests at the Grimm house.

"Greetings, soulless one." Sabrina joked, releasing Red's hand now that she knew the other girl was steady.

"Listen, I've got someone for you to meet." William said, nodding at a girl he'd been talking to. "This is Yvonne."

Yvonne, who was about William's age, looked down her nose at Sabrina. "Hello, girl." She sniffed.

"Uh... hi?" Sabrina asked. "I'm Sabrina. Are you an Everafter or...?"

"I'm the descendant of Chaucer." Yvonne said loftily. "I'd think it was obvious that no fairy-tale character would be named Yvonne."

"Well, Renee isn't exactly an old-fashioned name." Sabrina muttered. She didn't think she liked this girl very much.

"Yvonne and I grew up together." William explained. "She just came here with a bunch of other descendants of Everafter-chroniclers, like Baum's... something. I thought you might like to know."

"Great." Sabrina grinned. "More people close to my age!"

"Close to your age?" Yvonne said, one eyebrow raised. "I should think not." She stalked off, nose in the air.

"She's not usually like that." William apologized. "She's a bit... uppity, yeah, but not so bad."

"Then what's gotten into her?" Sabrina asked.

"She's jealous." William said. "I maybe was raving about my awesome cousins a bit too much, and Chaucer's never been really famous, and here you are, a celebrity, and she wants some limelight, I guess."

"She can have it." Sabrina said vehemently. "I hate it when people stare at me."

"Me, too." Red said.

William ruffled Red's hair and grinned. "We all know that."

Puck landed behind Sabrina and Red, then, releasing Bella and Daphne's hands a few feet above ground, dropping them roughly to the ground.

"Hey!" Bella complained, falling over into the mud. She got up and made a face, trying innefectually to rub the dirt out of her clothes. "Great." She moaned. "I'm going to be filthy the rest of the day."

"What's wrong with filthy?" Puck asked. "I like it. If you'd dropped me in the mud, I'd thank you! It'd get rid of all this _clean_." He looked down at his clothes and wrinkled his nose- Granny had made him take a bath the day before.

"You OK?" Bella asked Sabrina. "You seemed kind of off, and then you flew off before I could ask. It's fine that you couldn't fix it, you know. I can deal."

"What's wrong?" William asked, looking between the two girls in confusion.

"Nothing." Sabrina shook her head. "I just needed to think a bit, that's all." She smiled at Bella. "I'm fine now. Big-girl panties and all."

"Hey, there's your grandma." William said, pointing at the car as it pulled up. "My dad wants me to talk with her about a meeting, now that we're all here. And your uncle, too. Bye!"

Daphne waved, then asked, "What does he mean, 'now that we're all here'?"

"Apparently every descendant of someone who wrote about everafters is here in town, now." Sabrina said, shrugging. "Let's go inside, yes? It's getting kind of crowded under here."

The group walked through the double doors into the cafeteria, dripping on the entrance mat for a few minutes before walking through the halls- Sabrina had to force Puck to stay put and not track mud through the entire school- and Sabrina explained about her meeting with Yvonne.

"So we've got more humans?" Daphne asked. "Like, people my age? Sweet!"

"Maybe not your age." Sabrina cautioned. "They could all be teenagers or adults or babies like Basil."

"Basil's three." Daphne corrected. "That's not a baby."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Just then, a group of uncomfortable looking kids of all ages walked through the doors, ones that nobody recognized.

"That answer your question, Marshmallow?" Puck asked drily.


	90. Gone, Gone, Gone

**AN~ I felt kind of unloved when I saw the review count for this chapter. But I won't complain. I'll just say that you guys should be glad I don't sit on chapters, 'cause if I did... Those of you who DID review were great, so this update is dedicated to ANannyMouse, Kate Kesseberg, PsychoBrunette, and Epiphany On Toast.**

**Oh, another thing! Whoever guesses where the chapter name from correctly will get something cool, 'cause there haven't been any neat review numbers worth a prize recently. Hint: it's a song. Rules: don't go to youtube to find out.**

**_ANannyMouse:_ Well, if you see, I may not be using your title, but I did incorporate fried elephants. My theory for why there aren't new everafters is because the Book of Everafter stopped recording their stories. I THOUGHT I'd written that in here... well, I guess not. But yeah, it was MB who had the plothole, not you. Guess who just learned that Everafter is SUPPOSED to be capitalized? This chick! So bear with me for a few chapters while I get used to it. Puck is being maturer because of crisis and is going to go back to being normal shortly. Like... now. Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales. Which might not TECHNICALLY be about Everafters, 'cause they're a book of allegories, but I always liked Chanticleer. NEVER apologize to me for long reviews again! Never ever EVER! I love long reviews! They're just awesome!  
**

**_Kate Keseberg:_ Nope, she's going to keep maybe three powers. I mean, who needs more than three superpowers? I've been saying from the... I dunno, towards the beginning, anyway, that she'd lose most of them. There's actually a poll on my profile about it, but I think you have to be a member of FF to vote on polls.**

* * *

When they got home from school that day, Sabrina blinked. They'd flown, again, and arrived after everyone else, but it seemed to her that there were entirely too many people in the house- more than the usual entirely too many, anyway.

"What on earth?" She said, staring at the crowd in the living room and yard. "Who _are_ all these people?"

She worked her way to the kitchen, where Granny was, and repeated her question.

"They're the descendants of Fairy Tale Detectives, just like you, _liebling_." Granny said.

Sabrina blinked. "All of them?"

Granny nodded. "All of them."

"And what are they doing here?"

"Living." Granny responded.

There would have been silence, except for the constant background noise of strangers talking. Sabrina's eyelid twitched.

"Living like moving in living?" She clarified. "As in now?"

Granny nodded. "There was no room in town, and even if there was room, it wouldn't be safe. So I offered to let them live in Puck's room."

"Did you maybe think about asking us first?" Sabrina asked. "There's no _bathroom_ in Puck's room. And there's like, a hundred people out there! We can't have a hundred people living here!"

"I've worked it all out with Boarman and Swineheart." Granny said breezily. "They'll be building a village in there with indoor plumbing, so you'll be fine. In fact, we may even be able to work it so that they don't have to use our door to get back to the real world."

"Yeah, but still." Sabrina said. "Until you do, there's going to be more people in here than we have square feet of floor space, and they're all strangers to everyone but you and Uncle Jake. It would have been nice to have some warning. Especially 'cause Puck's going to freak when he finds out how many people you've moved into his room."

"They needed a place to stay, _liebling_." Granny protested. "What did you want me to do, put them out in the street?"

"No." Sabrina said. "I wanted you to talk about it with us. Like you always want me to do with you. You know, 'cause important decisions that effect the whole family are supposed to be made _by_ the whole family?"

Granny sighed. "I suppose you're right, Sabrina. I have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to helping people in trouble. I forget that not everyone is as eager to give a home to the homeless as I am."

"Oh, now don't make me come off as the bad guy here." Sabrina protested. "You made a mistake, you live up to it without making me seem wrong, too."

Granny smiled. "Fine. Help me with dinner, will you? We're going to need a lot of food for all these people."

"Sure." Sabrina said. "What are we making?"

"Fried elephant." Granny responded.

Sabrina blinked at Granny again. "Never mind." She said. "I can't do that. They're, like, endangered. It's illegal."

"It's the only recipe I have that will feed this many people." Granny protested.

Sabrina was saved from answering by Puck, who came barging into the room, flying low and tight over everyone's heads. "Old Lady, they're telling me they're moving a hundred and seventeen people into my room!" He said. "Tell them they're wrong!"

"I'm sorry, Puck, but it's the truth." Granny responded calmly. "They have nowhere else to stay, and you have plenty of extra room."

"You're kidding!" Puck snapped, and flew out again, knocking into several heads on his way.

Granny sighed. "Sabrina, _liebling_, I hate to ask you to do this, but you're the only one he really listens to, so could you-"

"On it." Sabrina sighed.

Oh, well. She'd rather talk Puck around than help Granny cook.

She worked her way through the crowded house, trying to ignore the strangers who were looking through Granny's books, leafing through the family journals, sitting on the couch, eating the food, and picking up the nick-knacks. She had to talk to some of them, though, to ask where Puck had gone. They pointed her outside, and, with relief, she followed their directions.

Outside, she didn't see him anywhere, so, after standing on the porch for a few minutes, she took to the sky, and, on a hunch, flew out into the woods.

When she reached the abandoned home that housed Puck's old junkpile and toilet throne, she was unsurprised to see him there, throwing rocks into his disgusting pool. She touched down beside him quietly and sat on the cleanest, driest piece of garbage she could find without saying anything.

Puck broke the silence first. "She treats me like I'm some... pet, or a charity case, or..." he trailed off, unsure what he wanted to say.

"One of her own kids?" Sabrina suggested.

Puck growled. "Yeah, except she expects me to give up more! I had everything in that place! All my stuff for pranking is in there! My plans, my tools, my supplies... Do you know how hard it is to find powdered roadkill?"

Sabrina shuddered. "I'll take your word for it."

"And she wants me to give all that up for... for... _people_!" Puck complained. "I'm a prince! I could have been a king! And she just forgets that, 'cause she wants to open a homeless shelter!"

"She has her reasons." Sabrina said quietly. Before Puck could protest, she continued, "I know. I hate it, too. But you know Granny. She wants to help _everybody_, no matter what. And she expects all of us to be just as selfless as she is."

Puck snorted. "I don't see her giving up her bedroom."

"You could move back in with your mom, if it bothers you that much." Sabrina suggested, though it hurt her a bit to say it. What was with her? She's see him every day anyway, at school. And if he wasn't living with her, she wouldn't have to be pranked as often. She'd never have to find out what he wanted powdered roadkill for. But the facts remained that Puck was one of the cornerstones of her life, and having him there made her feel secure.

Puck shook his head. "I got out of there once. If I go back my mom will make me do something _useful_. But I'm not going back to live in the attic, either."

"Gonna stay out here, then?" Sabrina asked, deciding that that was even worse. No telling whether or not he'd come to school if he was free to do whatever he wanted again.

"Why not?" Puck asked. "I'd be free! My own space, my own bedtime, nobody telling me what to do, nobody asking me to rescue them all the time..."

"Well, it's raining, for one thing." Sabrina pointed out. "And you don't have a roof. Plus, Granny's making fried elephant tonight. Dunno if she can feed you if you're out here again, now that things are like they are."

"Yeah." Puck made a face. "That would be inconvenient." After a second, his eyes lit up. "_You_ could feed me!" He suggested.

Sabrina blinked. "Ah... no. I'm not coming all the way out here in who knows what weather to give you food just 'cause you don't want to put up with a little inconvenience."

"That's the problem!" Puck snapped. "I'm running away! Years ago I'd have set up a trap that dumped them all in ten feet of killer unicorn manure for even thinking of trying to take my space! Now look at me! Back to this! Granted, it's pretty sweet." He said, looking at his throne, "But it's nothing like that place."

"So what's wrong with that?" Sabrina asked. "You're changing."

Puck didn't say anything for several minutes until he suddenly rounded on Sabrina and demanded, "What am I, Grimm?"

Sabrina blinked. "What?"

"I used to be the prankster extraordinaire!" Puck said, making big, sweeping gestures with his arms. "The Trickster King! The laze of all lazies on the planet! Now... now what am I? I don't prank barely ever, I live with a sweet old lady, I protect little girls, I'm clean... What happened to me?"

"I don't know." Sabrina said with a shrug. "You grew up?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to!" Puck snapped. "We talked about this, remember? And I don't know what you did, but you should stop, because I'm tired of this! Tired of... _caring_ about people! It was so much easier back when I could just be selfish and lazy without wondering who was going to get mad at me for it."

"Look, I don't know what I did, either!" Sabrina snapped. "All I wanted was to grow up normal! And I didn't get that, either! I got my parents kidnapped, a completely horrible year and a half, and then I got thrown in the middle of a war! I never asked to be an Everafter any more than you asked to get mature!"

"Yeah, well, at least you..." Puck trailed off.

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Both our lives suck. So can you stop whining and deal with it?"

"Depends." Puck said. "Will you? Stop whining, I mean."

"Probably not." Sabrina said.

"Then heck no!" Puck snapped. "Hypocrite." He paused. "See what I mean? I'd never have called someone a hypocrite before! It's all this _school_. Making me learn stuff..."

"I like you better this way." Sabrina said hesitantly.

"Which is exactly why I need to change!" Puck said. "Girls aren't supposed to like me! They're supposed to fall at my feet but think I'm disgusting!"

"Sorry, no can do." Sabrina said.

"Well, something needs to change." Puck said. "I can't go on like this! Being mature... it's just not _me_!"

"So what are you going to do?" Sabrina asked.

"Stay out here for a few days." Puck said. "Work things through. Tell the Old Lady I won't be back for dinner. Or anything. Not for a while."

"How long?" Sabrina asked, telling herself, _I will not miss him, I will not miss him_...

"Dunno." Puck grinned at her. "You'll know when I show up on your porch."

"All right." Sabrina said, standing and stretching her wings out. "Take care of yourself, slimebrain."

"You too, dogface." Puck said, still smiling. "Don't get killed before I get this stuff sorted out."

"I take offense to that!" Sabrina called, taking off and heading for home.

Instead of going back inside, Sabrina just flew around to the kitchen window and told Granny what had happened. "So he'll be back when he's ready." She finished. "And I'd bet he'll have more pranks when he is."

"Oh, dear." Granny said. "I'd hoped he'd take it better than this."

"I think it's more than just you, he's growing up, goodness knows why, and he's trying to deal with that, too." Sabrina said.

"I know why he's growing up." Granny said. "But yes, that would be hard for him to come to grips with."

"Listen, Granny." Sabrina said. "I... I don't want to eat with all these people. Would it be OK if I went down to Sacred Grounds for dinner?"

"Take Puck-" Granny cut herself off. "Take the chicken house. For safety. And don't go by yourself."

"Sure." Sabrina said.

Daphne was in the kitchen with Granny- Sabrina could see her through the window- but she looked to be having too much fun with the new people to want to go anywhere. Briar was already at Sacred Grounds, because it was her shift, and had taken Red with her. So should she take her parents, Uncle Jake, or Bella?

When she opened the door and looked into the house, she decided that whichever person she saw first would be dragged with her. They would have no choice, because she wasn't fighting through that throng.

It happened that the first family member she saw was her mom, who was talking with some other motherly figure, both of them holding small children on one hip.

"Mom?" She interrupted. "Mom?"

"What is it?" Veronica asked, turning finally. "This is my eldest, Sabrina." She said to the woman. "Sabrina, this is Mrs. Baum."

"Great." Sabrina said. "Listen, mom, Granny's making fried elephant for dinner and she said I could go to Sacred Grounds if I get someone to go with me, and you're the first one I saw so can we go? You can come back and talk to Mrs. Baum later, I don't care. I'll just go home with Aunt Briar."

Veronica sighed and looked over at Mrs. Baum. "Sorry." She said, "I should be back soon. It was nice meeting you!"

"Thank you." Sabrina said vehemently, snaking off through the crowd back to the front door.

Veronica sighed and followed, still holding Basil on one hip.

Once she reached the front porch, where the chicken house was conveniently standing with its steps butted up against the big house's steps so that nobody would have to be in the rain very long, she asked, "Why don't you take Puck with you instead? I'm sure he'd like to get out of the crowd."

"He already did." Sabrina said shortly, trying not to let her sadness show.

"So are you upset that he didn't take you with him, or what?" Veronica asked, sitting down as the house stood, putting Basil next to her.

"No, I mean he _left_." Sabrina said. "Like, moved out left."

"Ah." Veronica said, patting the seat next to her. "Sit, sweetheart."

Sabrina sat, leaning on her mother's shoulder. Veronica hugged her, one-armed- she couldn't put Basil down because he was in one of his spacey moods- and they just sat there for a few minutes. Sabrina didn't cry, but she may have sniffed a few times.

"I'm sorry I was short with you." Veronica said. "I didn't know, and it's been so long since I've been able to talk with people who are _just_ mothers..."

"It's OK." Sabrina said. "Sorry I bugged you."

"Already forgiven." Veronica said breezily, stroking Sabrina's hair. A few seconds later she asked, "Did he move out for good, or...?"

"He's trying to figure stuff out." Sabrina said. "Like, who he's turned into. 'Cause he's growing up. And he doesn't like it. So he's staying back in his junk heap in the woods until he's worked stuff out."

"Do you think you'll miss him?" Veronica asked.

Sabrina snorted. "I shouldn't. He's been absolutely horrible. But... he was my first friend here, you know? Even if it was more of a frienemies kind of thing than an actual friendship."

"Of course." Veronica said. "What will you do while he's gone?"

"Take complete and utter advantage of the lack of pranks, then spend a girl's night with Bella and whoever she's probably going to invite from the new people. Maybe move into the chicken house until Granny and Uncle Jake get everything figured out."

"Good idea." Veronica smiled. "I love your grandmother dearly, but she really could have thought more before moving a hundred people into our house."

"A hundred and seventeen, actually." Sabrina said. "That means there's a hundred and twenty three to a hundred and twenty six people living in our house or on our property."

"Maybe it's a good thing you put up that barrier permanently." Veronica said. "This way, at least when it's nice, they can stay in the yard."

"Mom, we're not going to have any privacy." Sabrina complained. "I bet there were people in my room. I _know_ there were people in Granny's room."

"I know, sweetheart, but we're just going to have to learn to live with it. They're here to help, you know."

"So's Faerie, but we didn't move _them_ into our house." Sabrina muttered.

"That's because they brought the Golden Egg, which is capable of holding at least half of them." Veronica pointed out.

Sabrina sighed. "I know there really wasn't any other way to do it, but it's just..."

"I know." Veronica said sympathetically. "But you've lived through worse, haven't you?"

Sabrina nodded. "I guess."

The house stopped bouncing around, a sure sign that they'd stopped moving.

"We're here." Veronica said. "Come on, let's go in and get you a nice Mallowbarb Special. That'll perk you up."

"I thought you were going home." Sabrina said.

"I can't leave my baby girl in suffering by herself, now, can I?" Veronica asked, hugging Sabrina around the shoulders. "What kind of mother would I be? Come on, now, the house is waiting."

Sabrina smiled and walked out.


	91. Babies

**AN~Welp, there has been a lack of happenings on this website recently, and my solution is two things: update, because when I do that there tend to be a rush of other updates to bury mine (murphy's law turned to my advantage!) and to solve the issue of review lack, I am starting a challenge similar to yellow.r0se, like Lara D just started doing.**

This time around:

Tell me your favorite fanfic (if you say this one, I'm disqualifying you). If you tell me about a story I haven't read yet that I enjoy, then I'll give you a mention in the next chapter and some sort of prize (e.g. a chapter dedication, a non-OOC request, a spoiler...)

**_warisha:_ Thanks so much for the review! I'm not normally a review begger. I think I've been spoiled by nice people.  
**

**_ANannyMouse:_ You're welcome, and I've only read two stories from it: The Pardoner's tale (bleh) and the Chanticleer story, which was awesome. I had to. I'm always looking for something interesting for either Granny to cook or Puck to prank with, and you gave me a beautiful idea. So far I've gotten lots of good feedback on this chapter. Which is kind of weird 'cause it came out of nowhere. Like, I had no idea that I was going to write this beforehand. Thanks for the awesome review! :D  
**

**_Luci-with-an-I:_ I'm sorry? I'll write worse?  
**

**_Agd:_ Missed you last chapter. Don't dislike Granny! She's just... too nice. To everyone! Puck... might be back this chapter. We'll see.**

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Sabrina and Veronica took Briar and Red with them when they left for home, though Mallowbarb and Buzzflower stayed behind to take care of the restaurant.

On the way home, Briar sighed.

"What's wrong?" Veronica asked.

"Oh, Buzzflower and Mallowbarb are just getting on my case again, that's all." Briar said. "It's not important, it just gets me down, 'cause I want to make them happy, but it's so hard, and making them happy usually involves acting like I can't take care of myself."

"Sounds like dad." Sabrina muttered under her breath.

"What do they want now?" Veronica asked. "And Sabrina, stop it."

"Sorry." Sabrina said quietly, but she noticed that Red was smiling.

"They want me to move back in with them." Briar said, sounding annoyed.

"As in leave Jake?" Veronica asked, blinking.

"No, no, nothing that-" the house gave a particularly big jolt, and Briar stopped talking to grab the couch, "- nothing that extreme. They want all three of us to move in with them. I've been putting them off for a while, but they're getting really insistent."

"Why?" Sabrina asked, rubbing the wall of the house affectionately. "What's wrong with this place?"

"Nothing." Briar said. "They just feel we'll be safer living with them. Or they don't, but they'll feel better if they can see me twenty-four/seven."

The house jerked again, and Sabrina studied it intently. The brightly colored walls of the main room seemed a little dimmer, but that might be because one of the lights on the swaying chandelier had gone out- had it been out on the way to Sacred Grounds? She didn't think it had- and there was a leak in the kitchen ceiling that she hadn't noticed before. The furniture looked about the same, all still safely bolted to the floor and in good condition, but the house itself looked a little worse for the wear.

"You got the house all worked up." Sabrina accused Briar. "Look at it."

Briar looked at the house and rubbed a hand on the wall affectionately. "I'm sorry." She said. "I'm not going to move. I just wish they'd stop bugging me about it."

The light suddenly flickered back on, and the steady dripping of the faucet cut out- Sabrina hadn't noticed that. She smiled slightly.

The ride back home was nice, despite the gloom outside. The rain hadn't gotten much harder, but the clouds were thick and dark, heavy with the promise of a long storm, and there was an occasional flash of lightning through them. Each of the house's steps made a squelching noise in the mud that was audible from inside, and, though the leak had slowed down once Briar promised not to leave, it was still there. Sabrina made a mental note to get Uncle Jake to fix that. They saw no one else out. But inside was full of cheerful conversation, laughter, and warm drinks to fight off the chill outside.

When they arrived home, the house again settled itself so that they only had to be in the rain for a few seconds before they were safely under their own porch before going off to its usual corner of the yard to wait to be called. Sabrina smiled at it, and Briar patted the banister absently as they walked inside.

"You're late." A girl Sabrina didn't know yet said when they came in. She was tallish, with wavy brown hair and hazel eyes, her hooked nose dotted with freckles. She brushed crumbs off her blue minidress absently, saying, "All the other 'important' people are in the weird room, having a meeting. They said you're supposed to join them."

"Thank you." Veronica smiled at her, heading upstairs. "Why aren't you with them?"

"They wanted someone responsible with the kiddos." The girl said, looking at a number of children, all under the age of six, who were watching a movie in the living room.

"Oh, that reminds me, Sabrina, while I'm at the meeting, would you watch Basil for me?" Veronica asked. "You can help... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Rochelle." The girl said.

"You can help Rochelle keep an eye on the others while you're at it." Veronica finished.

"OK, fine." Sabrina agreed, taking her brother from Veronica's arms. He was spacing out again, his eyes shining golden as he stared into space.

She watched as the two women headed for Puck's room, and then noticed that Red was still standing in the hallway awkwardly.

"The kids your age are upstairs." Rochelle told Red, nodding for the staircase.

"Thanks." Red said quietly, scurrying up and away, leaving Sabrina alone with the older girl, feeling just as awkward as Red had.

"What's with you people?" The girl asked suddenly. "She's the only normal person in this house. None of the other fairy tale detectives I know are everafters."

"She's one, too, actually." Sabrina said. "That's Little Red Riding Hood. And Daphne and I... we didn't mean to be Everafters. It just sort of happened. Same with Basil."

"Hm." The girl said, turning away.

Sabrina sat Basil down on the floor with the other children, and he snapped out of his trance, looking up at her. "'Bwina?" He asked.

Sabrina blinked. That was the first time he'd said her name. "Yeah, buddy?" She asked, bending down.

He raised his hands towards her, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

Sabrina smiled a bit, lifting him back up onto her hip. "All right, bucko, you can stay with me."

Sabrina sat on the couch with Basil in her lap, half watching the movie for a while, wishing the girl would talk to her while at the same time hoping she wouldn't, so that she didn't have a chance to make a fool of herself.

"Hey, is it OK with you if I head upstairs?" Rochelle asked suddenly. "My friends are up there, and..."

"Sure." Sabrina said, though she didn't mean it. Watch eleven little kids, all by herself? No thank you! But she'd let her go anyway, because, if she was being honest with herself, Sabrina wanted this older girl, who was obviously confident and capable, to like her.

"Thanks." Rochelle said, heading for the stairs.

Sabrina watched her go, wishing she knew how to walk like that, with just enough swing in her hips that she looked girly, but not so much that she looked like a slut. Then, shaking herself out of her envy, she turned to the babies, just in time to see the credits begin rolling on the screen.

"Do you guys want to watch another movie?" She asked the kids as they turned to her.

"No." One of them said. "Wanna play game."

"Okay..." Sabrina said. "What game? We have candy land."

"No." The little girl said. "Hide n' seek."

"Ummm..." Sabrina said, thinking of all the very dangerous and/or breakable things in the house, "I'm not sure that's a good idea..." What if one of them got lost while she was supposed to be watching them?

"You count." The girl said stubbornly. "We hide."

"Wait!" Sabrina called as the little girl toddled off. "Come back-"

But it was too late. She and several of the other toddlers had already left.

"Count to twenty-seven." A little boy told her solemnly as he, too, headed for the house proper. "No peeking."

Sabrina looked at Basil, who was still sitting there on the couch placidly, and said, her voice full of resignation, "Well, Baze? Wanna help me find people?"

"OK." Basil nodded cheerfully. "Count?"

"Right." Sabrina said. "One... two... three..."

She'd reached twenty-three when the doorbell rang.

"Gimme a minute!" She shouted at whoever was outside. "Twenty-four... twenty-five... twenty-six... twenty-seven! All right, I'm coming!" The doorbell had rung again.

Sabrina hurried to the door and pulled it open, saying, "What?" In a rude sort of voice.

"Nice to see you, too." Peaseblossom said, smiling crookedly. "Is Mustardseed here? Or my mom? I need to talk to them."

"Yeah, they're in... Puck's old room." Sabrina said, jerking her head. "I think they're in the middle of some big meeting, though, so you probably shouldn't interrupt."

"OK." Peaseblossom said readily. "Mind if I just hang out here, though, while I wait?"

"Go ahead." Sabrina gestured to the living room. "I won't be able to keep you company, though, I got babysitting duty, and I have to go find a bunch of toddlers."

"Let me help." Peaseblossom offered.

"You sure?" Sabrina asked.

"Absolutely." Peaseblossom assured her. "Just you and... how many kids did you say there were?"

"Twelve, counting Basil." Sabrina said. "I think. There might be eleven."

"What were they thinking, leaving you alone to watch them?" Peaseblossom asked incredulously.

"There was this other girl, maybe your age." Sabrina explained. "But she went upstairs, I think. She wanted to find her friends or something."

"Why didn't you tell her to stay?" Peaseblossom asked. "You need the help."

"I dunno." Sabrina shrugged. "I just... I didn't want to... I guess I just... well, she was older, and she's..."

"You're telling me that you got nervous?" Peaseblossom asked skeptically. "You? Sabrina Grimm? You're not a shy person. You're loud, you're brave... and you stopped 'cause you were scared she'd dislike you or something?"

"That's about it." Sabrina agreed, shamefaced.

"Why?" Peaseblossom asked. "It never seems to bother you what other people think normally."

"I don't, around you guys." Sabrina said. "But you're like me. You're weird. And you all have magic stuff. But around other people... these guys were all friends way before I came into the picture. And they... they _act_ older. You _are_ older, but they seem... like they're on an entirely different plane of existence. And I just don't belong. Besides, I am shy. Daphne's the outgoing one. I'm loud and obnoxious, but it's because... well, anyway, we should probably go find the kids." Sabrina cut herself off before saying, _because I'm scared._

"Right." Peaseblossom said.

Sabrina led the way into the kitchen and began pulling cupboards open. "Isn't your mother-in-law going to get upset that you're here?" She asked. "Since you're technically on their side and all?"

"She might be," Peaseblossom said, "but frankly, I don't care. I'm not going back."

"You're-" Sabrina straightened, leaving the cupboard door she'd just opened swinging back and forth.

"I left." Peaseblossom said. "I came to ask if I could move back in to the Golden Egg."

Sabrina stared at Peaseblossom, and suddenly, she wasn't in the kitchen anymore. She was in a grand room that bore the recognizable mark that Puck would have shuddered at: the overly ornate gold and cream walls with inset rectangles painted with frescoes of fairies. In the center of the room was a large bed covered with piles of unfolded clothes, books, and nick-knacks. Peaseblossom was moving stuff out of dressers and onto the bed.

A guy Sabrina recognized from her advanced gym class walked into the room and blinked. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Packing." Peaseblossom said, not looking up.

"Why?" He asked, sitting on an empty corner of the bed.. "Are we going on a trip?"

"_We're_ not going anywhere." Peaseblossom said. "I'm leaving. I can't take this anymore. And it's not like the treaty means anything."

He looked at her, his eyes wide, mouth turned down in a heartbroken pout, and said, "But... but I love you."

Peaseblossom, looking at him for the first time, snorted. "Love me?" She asked. "You've barely spoken to me in decades. You haven't even tried to kiss me in over a century!"

"That's because you stopped kissing back almost twice that long ago, let alone trying to do anything else!" He protested. "I thought I was doing what you wanted!"

"Yes, well, I didn't want to find out if I could get pregnant twice at once!" Peasblossom snapped.

"Sabrina!"

Sabrina blinked, and found she was looking at Peaseblossom in the kitchen again, staring at her with worry.

"You're pregnant?" Sabrina asked. She tried not to let her voice sound judgmental.

Peaseblossom twisted the wedding ring on her finger and sighed. "I was married for about two thousand years, Sabrina. Of course I'm pregnant."

"So... why didn't you have the baby?" Sabrina asked, resisting a strong temptation to crouch down by Peaseblossom's stomach and poke it.

Basil, though, held no such qualms and ran over to stare up at Peaseblossom's stomach. "A baby's innere?" He asked.

Peaseblossom nodded. "A very small one." She turned to Sabrina and said, "I don't know why I didn't. I just... I got scared, I guess."

"Scared of what?" Basil asked, poking Peaseblossom in the belly. "Hi, baby!"

"It can't hear you." Sabrina told Basil, grabbing him and pulling him back.

"Why not?" Basil asked. "How'd it be innere, anyway? You eat it?"

"No." Peaseblossom said. "Ask your mom and dad, they'll tell you."

"Why were you scared?" Sabrina asked. "Other than the whole pain thing, I get how that might skeeve you out."

Peaseblossom sighed and leaned against the counter, elbows poking back behind her. "Well, my parents weren't the greatest, you know? And Mab... she's worse. And I knew she'd try to take over my kid and make it like her, and I didn't want that. I want to be able to be a good mom, you know? And I don't know how. I never knew any good parents when I was younger, and now that I'm here where there _are_ people that know how to be parents, we're in the middle of a war! And I can't have the baby like that. I'm just... glad I'm an everafter, and have a choice."

"I wonder why more people don't take advantage of that." Sabrina said, bending down to look in another cabinet. "You'd think that people like Beauty and the Beast and Bella's parents would have waited to have a kid 'til they thought they could afford it."

"I don't think most people actually think they can stop it. They assume that the baby will grow even if they don't age, so they age with it. It's subconscious." Peaseblossom said, standing up straight again. "I only know 'cause my mom put off having me until she and my dad were actually... Yeah."

"Oh." Sabrina said, carefully not looking at Peaseblossom as she shut the cabinet door.

"Hey, at least I know they were in love with each other once." Peaseblossom said, feigning cheer. "Even if they did fall out of it over the centuries."

"They still did." Sabrina said. "Even at the end."

"How do you know?" Peaseblossom asked, eyes narrowing. "They fought all the time!"

"I was there when your dad died, remember?" Sabrina asked. "I saw how your mom acted, when she was alone. I know the way she acts around other people is different, but she really wanted a chance to apologize to him. And your dad kind of took over my body for a while. It was awful. But I knew how he felt."

"Oh." Peaseblossom said. "Well, if you say so." But she had a bit of a bounce in her step, even though her words weren't very hopeful.

"Hey." Sabrina said suddenly, closing the last of the cabinets. "If they don't want you moving back in there, for whatever reason, you could always come here. Move in to Puck's old room."

"Where is my darling brother, anyway?" Peaseblossom asked. "I'd have expected him to be all on top of the kidlings."

"He left." Sabrina said shortly.

"Left?" Peaseblossom screwed her brows together and stared at Sabrina. "Left for where?"

"His junk heap." Sabrina said.

"Why?" Peaseblossom asked. "'Cause your grandma put people in his room?"

"Well..." Sabrina hedged.

"That's stupid!" Peaseblossom exploded. "Of all the immature, ridiculous-"

"It wasn't just that." Sabrina cut her off hurriedly. "He had a lot to sort through, with the growing up and all. This was just the catalyst."

Peaseblossom shook her head. "It's still stupid."

"Don't get too mad at him for it." Sabrina protested. "He's coming back. Eventually."

Peaseblossom was about to answer when a voice called from down the hall, "Hey! Arn'choo comin' to _find_ us?"

The two girls, Basil in tow, snickered and headed off down the hall in search of small children.


	92. Missed You Like Heck

**AN~ ****Called it. As soon as I update, so do tons of other people. But anyway, a nice long chapter for you all. It'd be nice to recieve a nice long email telling me I got reviews in return, but...**

Question of the day repeated, since nobody answered it last time: What is your favorite fanfic (other than this one)? People who tell me a good in-progress fanfic I haven't read yet will get a mention in the next chapter and a prize of their choice.**  
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**_Agd:_ I can't. Stick to one thing, I mean. I'm sorry you're getting confused, and I'll try to clear up anything you have issues with, but I seriously want to get this finished by the time book 9 is out, because it's getting hugetastic, and if I stick with one thing for too long, it'll end up 200 chapters, at least. However, I have a compromise to suggest, because I also don't quite understand what you mean by sticking to one thing: you tell me what you think I should add, and I'll go back once I'm done and edit the chapters to make them longer and full of the stuff you think they need. Does that work? Rochelle is... yeah. She and the other new chick are friends. I don't know why, but I made most of the new kids kind of stuck up... No worries, I'd rather you tell me what needs work so I can improve than just lie that it's great and have me go out into the real world and be destroyed.  
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**_ANannyMouse: _Maybe it was the fried elephants. They are quite enticing. It's characters', by the by. Thanks! It doesn't seem stilted or anything? Sabrina has always been my favorite. I've noticed that people fall into either the 'Sabrina sympathizers' or 'Daphne lovers' groups. While they aren't mutually exclusive, they tend to divide that way, and the people who like Sabrina usually have more in common with her. I've always been an obnoxious shy person. You flooded your GARAGE? Ouch. I love Peaseblossom, myself. I wish MB had actually put her in the story, and she wasn't an OC. I totally made up the 'everafters can be pregnant for ages' thing. It seemed to make sense, though. Toddler-Speak is HARD (you'd think it'd be easy, I've known so many). Your enjoying it made it worth it, though. If the Everafter capitalization is all you see wrong, by all means, tell me. If there are other, more prominent errors, those come first in my need to fix list. The song was 'Gone, Gone, Gone' from Rogers & Hammerstein's 'Porgy and Bess'. Good play, even if that song's a little operatic and inaccessible. I prefer 'Summertime' and 'It Ain't Necessarily So'.**

* * *

Life settled into a pattern again, though it was different without Puck. At Granny's suggestion, they moved all of Puck's things into the basement, which Sabrina thought was just creepy enough that he'd love it, though she was a bit worried he'd bounce on the trampoline and hit his head- if he ever came back. Nobody had even seen him since Sabrina had talked to him in the woods.

Daphne had almost immediately made friends with all the children even relatively close to her age, unsurprisingly. Sabrina hadn't. She hung on the edges of groups when she had to, because Bella _had_ gotten buddy-buddy with several of them, but she didn't make conversation really, or try to get to know any of them. She spent a lot of the time on the porch roof outside her house, searching the sky above the now-leafy trees for the silhouette of a winged boy.

The rest of the family got on with their new houseguests great, for the most part. There were still transportation issues (they hadn't figured out a way from Puck's old room into the outside world without going through the house yet, and there were still only two cars and a magic carpet to ride on), but they'd worked it out, and everyone but Red and Sabrina had made several friends.

There was a major skirmish in which several people were critically injured, including Ghepetto, who was on the verge of death, kept alive only by Uncle Jake's magic, and training kept on as usual. Sabrina found that she was way behind the other fairytale detective children where knowledge was concerned, but that she kept up with them all in skills. That was a relief. She'd have felt completely inferior, otherwise. She was socially awkward, not as pretty as most of them, and she didn't know as much about everafters or magic, even her own, but she could fight. And that was what counted.

In early May, there was a knock at the door. Sabrina, as usual, answered it, Daphne close behind her. She'd recently decided that opening the door and answering the phone ought to be _her_ jobs, and she resented all attempts to change that. Sabrina, who had answered the door out of habit before, was now doing it because it was funny to watch Daphne's face get screwed up when she saw she'd been beaten again.

When she opened the door, though, the smile fell off her face. Standing on the porch, the sun streaming in behind him, was Puck.

"You're back." Sabrina said, expressionless.

Puck stood there awkwardly and said, "Yeah."

"Sort things out, then?" Sabrina asked.

Behind her, Daphne exploded, running down the hall screaming, "_Puck's back! Granny, Mom, Red, Puck's Back!"_

"Yeah." Puck nodded. "I think I did."

"And?" Sabrina asked.

The two of them seemed remarkably still, considering the commotion around them. Daphne's shouts had roused the household, and they were scurrying out of all the rooms to the hallway.

"I'm just going to let you see." Puck said, and smirked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I should smack you." She said, and walked off, hips swaying in the way that Bella had been teaching her. It probably didn't have the same effect, because her body shape was different, but when she glanced back to check and saw that Puck was watching her go, she decided that maybe it had worked better than she'd thought.

As soon as she was in the living room, though, she switched back to her normal walk, face flaming. How could girls _do_ that all the time? It was so... gah!

"Oh, Puck, I'm so glad to- my goodness, you smell!" Granny's voice echoed through the hallway.

Sabrina smirked and sank onto the couch next to Uncle Jake, who was watching the news.

"I was expecting a longer reunion between you two." Uncle Jake commented, not looking away from the TV.

"He smells to high heaven." Sabrina said. "I'm not touching that 'til he's had a bath. Or five."

"But still." Uncle Jake said. "You could talk to him."

"From behind glass, yeah." Sabrina said. "Or wearing a gas mask."

Uncle Jake shut the TV off and rounded on Sabrina as the picture on the screen centered into a thin white line and died. "What's this about?" He demanded. "You've been moping after him for months, Sabrina, everyone could see it! And now he comes home and you ignore him?"

"He deserves it." Sabrina muttered. "Gone for a month and a half with no word at all... He could have been hurt or killed and we'd never have known, and he just shows up like nothing's wrong, like it was _yesterday_ he left!"

Uncle Jake grinned. "All right, kiddo, I'll give you that. But... don't give him the cold shoulder for too long, OK? You two are only going to have so many shots at each other before one of you breaks the other's heart for good."

"Whatever you say." Sabrina said breezily, plucking the remote out of his hands and turning the TV back on.

"I'm serious, 'Brina." Uncle Jake said, pushing the power button on the remote around Sabrina's hand.

Sabrina sighed and looked at him. "Do we have to have this talk?" She asked.

"Yes." Uncle Jake said firmly. "Because someone has to, and no one else is stepping up to do it."

Sabrina made a face. "Fine."

"Look, I don't like it, either." Uncle Jake said. "I wish it was one of your parents, or my mom, or anyone but me."

"So let's get it over with, then." Sabrina said. "Then I can go back to having no friends my own age in peace."

"Still not fitting in with the human kids?" Uncle Jake asked sympathetically.

"No." Sabrina muttered. "They all know each other, and most of the girls my age are kind of stuck-up."

"Well, you have to understand that they all know each other, 'Brina." Uncle Jake said. "From before. They were friends and stuff well before the war, so it's understandable that they'd be a little close-knit."

"Why is that?" Sabrina asked. "They're from all over the place. How _do_ they know each other?"

"The people who know about Everafters, especially the ones who come from a long line of people 'in the know', the rest of them, they're kind of like... contacts, for everafters. Most of the time they live kind of spread out and undercover, not like here, so they need people who can get them stuff from the human world, and that's the function fairy tale detective take in the world in general." Uncle Jake explained. "It's kind of this big elaborate undercover spy system, minus the spying, for the most part."

"That still doesn't explain why all the kids know each other." Sabrina said.

"They have these meetings, see?" Uncle Jake explained. "Once a year, every family who knows about Everafters is supposed to send a representative to get together at someone's house and talk about what's going on, to make sure everything's OK, and nobody needs any outside help or anything. A lot of the time they bring their kids so that they can hang out with other kids that they can be frank with. And the ones that live in Europe... it's a small place, 'Brina. They probably had playdates."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "I guess that makes sense. I'll just stick with Everafters, though." She paused. "Do you know how frustrating that is, for part of me? When I first came here, I hated all Everafters, thought they were weird, crazy, or evil. And now it turns out I fit in better with them than I do with normal people! I mean, I'm not shy with them!"

"Maybe it's because you didn't care at first." Uncle Jake suggested. "And then you found out they were cool after all, and by then they already knew what you were like, and you knew they liked you for it."

"Maybe." Sabrina said. "So how am I supposed to do that with these people? I _do_ care if they think I'm stupid!"

"I don't know." Uncle Jake said. "Give it time? That's all I can think of. I've never had that shy issue you seem to."

"That's helpful." Sabrina said dryly, standing. "I'm going to go talk to someone who understands me, like my dad."

Uncle Jake laughed. "That's not something most teenage girls say. 'My dad understands me!'" He chuckled, then seeing Sabrina walk away, realization dawned on his face. "Wait a second!" He snapped, grabbing Sabrina's wrist and pulling her back onto the couch. "That was all just a ploy to distract me, wasn't it?"

Sabrina made a face and sat down. "Not just to distract you. I was genuinely curious. But yeah, it mostly was. And it almost worked, too!"

"Nice try." Uncle Jake said. "But I'm a little quicker on the uptake than you seem to think."

"Fine." Sabrina relented.

"Good." Uncle Jake said. "Listen. I know you like the prince over there, you know you like him, your mom knows, your sister knows, your friends know, your dad _would_ know if he wasn't so fixated on keeping you a little kid, your grandma knows, pretty much everyone knows how you feel except him! So why don't you just tell him how you feel and get it over with?"

"Because he doesn't like me back!" Sabrina exclaimed, her voice full of 'duh'.

"How do you know if you don't ask?" Uncle Jake asked, smiling a bit.

"Because he doesn't like girls?" Sabrina suggested, her voice dripping with the same 'it's so obvious' tone. "He thinks we're all cootie-covered and going to infect him."

"Which is why he's growing up." Uncle Jake said, one eyebrow raised. "At the same rate as you, I might add."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sabrina asked. "He doesn't like me, no matter how many people think otherwise, I can barely admit I like him to you... I mean, it's disgusting! And anyway, it would never work. His mom's not exactly fond of me."

"You can make excuses all you like, but we know the real reason is you're scared." Uncle Jake said calmly.

Oh no. He did _not_ just go there. Sabrina almost snapped that fine, she'd do it, just to prove she wasn't a coward. In fact, she'd opened her mouth and almost begun to speak when she paused. "Wait a second." She accused. "You almost just played me like I tried to play you. Heck no!"

Uncle Jake snapped his fingers. "Dangit." He said, smiling. "I was close, too."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at him and, nose in the air, stood up and stalked out of the room.

* * *

Puck's welcome home hadn't been quite the way he pictured it. He'd never admit it to anyone else, but he'd half-hoped that Sabrina would wrap him in a hug so tight he wouldn't be able to hug back because his arms would be pinned to his sides. He hadn't expected that, of course, but he'd hoped for maybe an 'I missed you', or at least more than ten words! In fact, he was downright affronted that she'd been so cold. After all, he'd come back. And it was her fault. He'd planned to tell her what he'd figured out, but it was obvious that she didn't want to hear it.

And to top it off, they'd moved him into the basement! True, the basement was pretty darn awesome, but still! He was a prince! _And_ they wanted him to start his chores and school and being clean right where he'd left off! The next day! Without even a day to recuperate.

But as the Old Lady fussed over him, and Daphne pestered him with questions while Red hovered in the background,he sighed happily. It was good to be back.

"Hey, has anyone seen Sabri- oh, you're back, Puck." Bella said, sticking her head around the corner. "Hi."

"Hey." Puck said, smiling crookedly. "Nice to know you missed me."

"I did." Bella said. "I just also think you should have come home sooner, and I'm looking for Sabrina. What do you want me to do? Jump all over you screaming?"

"Well, yeah." Puck grinned. "It'd be good for my ego."

"Your ego's big enough as it is." Bella told him sternly, turning to head back out.

Puck scrambled to a standing position and called, "Wait! I need to talk to you, actually." He hurried after her, noticing, a little miffed, that she didn't actually stop for him, she just walked slower.

"Wassup?" Bella asked, once they were halfway down the hall and he'd finally caught up to her.

"It's Sabrina." Puck said.

"What about her?" Bella asked. "Finally decide to ask her out?"

"What? Heck no!" Puck gave Bella a completely incredulous look. "I just want to know why she's like, ignoring me."

Bella sighed. "Well, you did just leave for a month before she was done getting over your betraying her. It's not exactly trust inducing." Puck opened his mouth to protest, and Bella held up a hand. "I know. You had reasons. And they were probably good ones."

"They were great reasons!" Puck said loftily, leaning against a stack of books that was almost flush with the wall.

Bella leaned against the opposite wall. "Yeah, Puck, but you _know_ Sabrina. She doesn't trust easy. If you want her to open up to you, you've gotta stick around."

"I was planning on it." Puck said. "But other than not leaving again, how can I make her talk to me?"

"Get her by herself, I guess." Bella shrugged. "She usually hangs out on the porch roof after dinner. I guess 'cause she needs alone time. I've invited her to hang out with me and the houseguests in my room, but she never takes me up on it."

"Would you expect her to?" Puck asked.

"Well, no, not really." Bella said. "But she gets along fine with the study group for the most part! I don't get why she's so afraid of these people!"

"She's not." Puck said. "Sabrina's not afraid of anything. She probably just doesn't like them."

"Sure." Bella said. "That's... definitely it, Mr. I-Haven't-Been-Here-In-A-Month."

"Did you ask her?" Puck asked. "I bet I'm right."

"No." Bella asked. "She always changes the subject."

"Well, I'll ask her tonight, then." Puck said firmly.

* * *

Sabrina was lying on her stomach on the edge of the roof, her face and arms hanging out over the eave into emptiness, listening to Daphne and several of her little friends giggle in her bedroom. The first time she'd lain in this position, she'd sat up to find sections of her hair and a large portion of her chest covered in gutter-goo, so the next afternoon she'd offered to clean out the gutters for Granny in exchange for five dollars. She'd have done it for free, really, but she could use the cash. It was really quite peaceful, with the light from the window shining on the shingles next to her, and the crickets chirping in the forest nearby. If she could still control the weather, she'd think about living on the roof.

"Hey." A voice said from the ground below.

Sabrina focused on it, squinting into the shadows of the space between window-light. Puck stood in the lawn, looking up at her.

She waved lazily, half lifting her one hand, and didn't say anything.

"Mind if I come up?" Puck asked.

She shrugged. "Go right ahead."

He did so, his wings popping out of his back, flying almost silently to sit next to her in the rectangle of light from the window, his legs dangling in the air as he leaned against his palms. After a few seconds of silence he asked, "So what did I miss?"

Sabrina snorted. "I'm sure Granny told you."

"Some of it." Puck agreed. "But I want to hear it from you."

Refusing to be flattered, Sabrina took a deep breath and said, "Daphne had her tenth birthday party, and all her little friends showed up as well as the study group, Art and Tim got in a fight- I don't think they just hate each other 'cause Art thinks Tim's a fake anymore- I'm officially third best swordsperson in the school, I can't control elements anymore, Ghepetto's been in a coma for three weeks, Pinocchio disappeared right when that happened, Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar are thinking about moving back in with Buzzflower and Mallowbarb and letting mom, dad, and one of us kids move into the chicken house, and everyone's made friends with the humans except me and Red."

"Oh." Puck said. "So Art and Tim...?"

"Both have a thing for Daphne." Sabrina supplied, making a face. "Even though Tim's, like, sixteen and way too old for her, and Art isn't much better."

"And Briar and Jake?" Puck asked. "They're moving? How come?"

"Because they're tired of getting nagged, mostly." Sabrina said. "And it'll be good for Red to have some distance from all these people. She doesn't like to come in the house anymore. They're worried about her."

"She'll be fine." Puck said breezily. "She just needs to... I dunno. Open up a bit or something."

"You say that 'cause you've never been shy." Sabrina told him, scoffing.

They were silent for a few minutes, then Puck spoke again: "Did you miss me?" He asked.

Sabrina had a choice. She could tease him, or be honest, or lie. Thinking of what Uncle Jake had said to her earlier, she turned and, surprising even herself, wrapped her arms awkwardly around Puck's waist, saying, "I missed you like heck, potato-butt."


	93. Back to Normal?

**AN~ I'm thinking about doing features each chapter, of another story. To spread some love around and get people new stuff. Any interest? If I get no responses, I'll assume it's 'cause very few people actually read ANs and it's not worth it anyway.**

**Winners of the last question of the day: Purpleflower23, who technically won chapter 94, with her suggestion of the Harry Potter fanfiction 'The Magic Word is Sorry, not Please', and yorkie999777000, who was the only one to review for chapter 95 with a fanfic I hadn't read already, America's Ham's 'Severed Chains'. Step up and claim your prizes, people!**

New question of the day: What's the craziest thing anyone you know personally has ever done? I don't know how I'll pick a winner yet, but I'll probably know it when I see it. Nothing you got off the news or heard from a friend of a friend. It can be something you did.

**_Sparkle Ninja:_ Thanks for the review! It's not done being awkward. :) In fact, I may have to write a oneshot about how very awkward Valentine's Day was for them...  
**

_**RRB:**_**That's kind of really cool. :) There have been a lot of things I WISH were canon recently. The pregnancy thing is one of them.**

**_Purpleflower23:_ Well, as an anonymous reviewer, you automatically get an AN mention. However, for answering the question of the day, you get a second one. Want a prize? If so, what? That was a LONG fanfiction, and I enjoyed it, though I found it highly implausible that they'd get treated like THAT. Welcome back, by the by!**

* * *

As soon as Sabrina hugged Puck, she blushed, and was about to pull away when Puck did something equally as unexpected: he shifted his weight to his left arm and hugged her back.

"Missed you, too, mush-for-brains." Puck grinned down at her.

Sabrina smiled back up at him for a second, noticing how good he looked with the yellow glow behind him. Then she realized that yellow glow meant light which meant inside which meant her bedroom which meant that if Daphne looked out the window she could see them.

She let go and drew back awkwardly. "My insult was better." She said.

Puck snorted. "Potato-butt? I could come up with a better insult in my _sleep_!"

"Only because your stuffed unicorn would whisper them to you in your dreams." Sabrina pointed out. "I put him down there, you know. In the basement. Along with most of the other stuff I figured you didn't want anyone else to see."

"Thanks." Puck said, sounding surprised. "That's... nice of you."

"I can be nice sometimes." Sabrina told him. "It just happens mostly to people who aren't you."

"And why is that?" Puck asked.

"Because you're not particularly nice to me?" Sabrina shrugged. "I dunno. It just sort of happened that way."

"It works for us." Puck said. "The nasty thing."

"It does." Sabrina nodded. "Which... reminds me to ask you: what _did_ you decide about the growing up thing?"

"Honestly?" Puck said. "I'm going to deal with it."

Sabrina stared at him for about five blink's worth of time. "That wasn't exactly what I expected." She said.

"Yeah." Puck agreed. "Me, neither. But what choice do I have? I can't stop it."

"I kind of expected you to act out at everyone to try to compensate or something." Sabrina shrugged again.

"Thought about that." Puck agreed. "But then it seemed like too much work. So I'm just going to... let it happen. Go with the flow."

"That's surprisingly mature of you." Sabrina congratulated.

"Yeah, 'bout that..." Puck said. "That's not going to happen easy. I'm... I _think_ I'm different, anyway, but not mature. Never that."

"Fine." Sabrina said. "But don't do something gross right now? This is... nice."

"Can do." Puck said compliantly, leaning back on his elbows.

_Gosh_ he looked gorgeous.

Sabrina shook that thought out of her head, spinning her legs around to dangle over the edge of the roof, matching Puck's position. Their hands touched.

She didn't move them.

Neither did he.

They stayed like that until Daphne's friends had gone to bed, just sitting there, hands brushing each other. Together.

* * *

At school the next day, Sabrina was more content than she'd been in a long while. She no longer had to hang at the edge of Bella's group of semi-normal friends or find someone else who missed Puck and knew how much she did, feeling their pity. She was back in her comfort zone.

"Sabrina." Snow said, towards the end of English class.

"Yeah?" Sabrina spun her head around, looking up from her notes.

"After school today, don't let the study group meet in the library." Snow said. "Go up to the attic, OK?"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "Why?"

"Meeting." Snow says shortly. "It's for everyone in the Eff, and since you're kind of in charge of the study group, that means I won't have to tell all the kids individually or make a big thing out of it."

The Eff, as Daphne had started calling the Emerald Foot, didn't _have_ meetings. Sabrina knew this. They had Charming's speeches, and little get-togethers to plan things, but not meetings. So this seemed suspicious. But she still led everyone else upstairs to the attic, which, at the moment, looked like a large, steeply slanted stadium with pathways between every two seats- not the best for fitting a lot of people, but the angle of the narrow chairs made up for it.

In the center of the stadium stood the unofficial leaders: Charming, Snow, Robin Hood (backed, of course, by Maid Marian, Little John, and Friar Tuck), Mr. Clay, Mustardseed, Titania, Granny, and Mr. Seven. They waited several minutes for everyone to file in before Charming stepped up to a microphone that Sabrina wasn't sure had been there before.

"Hello, everyone." Charming said. "Welcome. We've called you here today for a very important-"

But the crowd was already tuning him out, and Robin Hood saw it, and stole the mic away from Charming. "Right, people!" He called. "The battle starts this summer, we all know it does! We've had some little things before now, but this is when it gets big. So we need to start preparing proper!"

"Thought that's what we'd _been_ doing!" Someone called. Sabrina thought it was one of the Merry Men.

"Well, yeah, but not well enough!" Robin snapped. "We need some organization! So we've decided to put you into squads!"

Snow tapped Robin on the shoulder and held her hand out for the mic. He gave it to her, and she began, "In light of what's happened to Ghepetto, we've made some considerations, and decided that no squad will be without a healer. Of course, we also want each squad to have a leader, a communications officer, a scout, a master of ordinary weapons, a second in command, and a magical talent. The healers will be equipped with enough to keep someone alive until they can get back to one of our bases, but everyone else will have to see whoever's in charge of their field for supplies. You are not to go _anywhere_ without your squad once the real work begins. Ideally, you'll be working with between seven and twelve people, but never less than six. Now, when I call your name, come forward to get your squad placement."

Most of the study group waited forever, but their names never came. In the end, it was just them who hadn't been assigned- assignments were little pins with symbols on them, apparently, with different colors for each job- and Snow was speaking again.

"Right, now that you all know what we want you to do, two things before you go: if you have an issue with your assignment, come see one of us once this is over, we'll try to fix it, and, the more important one: bases. I'll let Mustardseed take over here, though."

She passed Mustardseed the mic, and he stepped forward and said, "We have several main bases which you'll each be assigned to report to, based on your living location: The central fort of the Emerald Foot, the Golden Egg, and the Grimm house. There are some other smaller establishments, of course, such as the Blue Plate Special and Sacred Grounds, but we picked these three spots, the most impregnable, to use as our strongholds. We may, at some point, order you to move into one of these places to keep you safe. Until then, we encourage you to fortify your own homes as you see fit. And... I believe that's it. Yes?"

Granny shook her head and said, pulling the mic from Mustardseed, "Transportation. In case of emergencies, you'll be able to call the chicken house to come get you, it will be safe, and it will transport you to the nearest base. _Now _we're done."

Most people started to file out, but Sabrina and almost all the rest of the study group, as well as several of the human kids who weren't really involved in the study group, though they came sometimes, stayed behind. Once the rest of the people had left, Sabrina looked around at the others questioningly. They nodded without saying anything and, as one, got up to demand answers.

Sabrina was shoved to the front, against her will, and found herself standing in front of Snow and the others, feeling a bit nervous because there were almost a hundred people watching her- well, all right, more like eighty, but that was still a lot.

The adults looked at them, and Mr. Clay sighed.

Robin chuckled. "I told you this would happen."

"What is it, children?" Snow asked, looking resigned.

"Why didn't any of us get assignments?" Sabrina asked, when it became apparent no one else was going to speak.

"_Because_ you're children." Snow said patiently. "We discussed it, and we've decided. No one under eighteen is allowed to join the army."

The everafters behind Sabrina sent up a storm of protests, and Snow had to shout over them to be heard.

"_Physically_ under eighteen!" Snow clarified. "I can't be responsible for the deaths of children, I don't care how old you are in reality, your minds and emotions are still those of a child's. I'm sorry, but either you age to eighteen, or you stay at the bases and make yourselves useful in a less dangerous way."

"So what was the point, then?" Sabrina asked. "What was the point of any of it? All that training, calling us up here... for what? We're not going to see any action!"

"That's not true." Charming told her. "There's a high likelihood that you'll be somewhere and be attacked. We want you to survive that, child. _That's_ why we trained you. Now, if there isn't anything else, I'd like to be getting back to my... cabin."

He and several of the others left, Robin ruffling Sabrina's hair as he passed. Sabrina couldn't help it: she blushed. What was with her? He was old! And married! And she'd already established that she liked Puck!

Most of the children, Snow, Granny, and Mustardseed stayed. Sabrina gave him an accusing look. "How come _you _get to be part of this?"

"I'm not." Mustardseed said. "I'm strictly on the planning end. In fact, I was one of the ones to vote against having children fight."

"Why?" Daphne asked. "Why can't we? Snow, you said it yourself, we care way more about this than a lot of the adults do!"

"I won't get into the science of it, Daphne, but there are reasons. Children just can't make choices as clearly as adults, not because they have less experience, though that's part of it, but because your emotions are in turmoil and your brain isn't fully formed yet."

"Do you really want to see war this badly_, lieblings_?" Granny asked sadly.

"No!" Sabrina protested loudly, forgetting the people around her. It could have been just her and Granny Relda. "It's not that, Granny. I don't want to kill people or hurt them or anything like that, it's just... I want to _do_ something! I want to be out there, standing up for what I believe in! I want to make sure nobody dies to protect me. I can't just do nothing."

Granny sighed. "I know, _liebling_, and I have a feeling you're going to run off to try to help anyway, but this is for your best interests. Can you promise me you won't put yourself in danger?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I can't, Granny. I... I'd like to, but..."

Granny sighed and looked behind Sabrina. "Puck?" She said hopelessly.

Puck stepped up and, yanking on Sabrina's hair, promised, "I'll keep her and the Marshmallow from doing anything too stupid, Old Lady."

"Says the kids who just ran off to the woods for a month and a half in the middle of a war zone." Sabrina muttered, jerking her hair out of his grasp. She remembered the other people around now, and with that, remembered to be embarrassed. A blush crept up her face. "I don't think I want you deciding whether or not what I do is stupid."

"Thank you, Puck." Granny said, her voice full of emotion.

"No problem." Puck waved his hand breezily.

"I _would_ be happy for your help." Snow told the everafters behind Sabrina."You'd have to age enough that you could participate, but that's the only reason you aren't involved. And if you don't want to do that, there are several other useful things you could do around here."

Several of the everafters muttered to themselves, but none had sudden growth spurts. That was too big a decision to make all at once.

Snow nodded. "Come see me if you change your minds." She told them. "If not, head home."

Most people left, Sabrina included. She was kicking at the grass in front of her, making faces. So what if she was younger? She'd proved she could do stuff before! What was so different about now?

"Hey!" Someone called from behind her.

It wasn't a voice she recognized, so she kept walking. They probably weren't talking to her.

"Hey!" The voice repeated, sounding a bit out of breath. "Wait up, will you?"

This time Sabrina turned, already thinking up excuses that wouldn't make it seem like she thought they were talking to her. But the person- a guy about her own age- was running straight for her. She stopped.

"Gosh, you walk fast." He panted, once he'd reached her. "You're Sabrina, right?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "You're...?"

"Marcus." He told her, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

Sabrina inspected him. That was a Greek name, and he _looked_ Greek. She wondered if there were any famous cataloguers of fairy tales from Greece or if he was descended from some little-known helpful person. She realized that she hadn't answered him and said, "Yeah, you, too."

He started walking again, and Sabrina joined him. He was probably heading back to her house. The humans didn't go to the study group much, unless Bella or Daphne invited one of them.

"Where are you headed?" Marcus asked. "'Cause I could walk you home if you-"

"I'm going to the library, actually." Sabrina interrupted. "Most of us kids meet up there afterwards to help each other out with homework."

"Oh." Marcus said. "Well, I could walk you there, if you wanted..."

Sabrina didn't say anything for a bit, but then she rounded on him. "Why are you talking to me?" She asked. "None of the humans ever talk to me. So what's with the change?"

"Well, that's for two reasons." He said, smiling at her a bit. "Half the girls think you're a stuck up little twit. And a lot of the rest of us thought you were... I dunno, stupid or antisocial or something." He twisted his head to the side, looking at her. "But you're not, are you? You're just shy."

"Maybe." Sabrina said, irked by his comments. "That still doesn't say why you're talking to me, now."

"What you said back there..." He grinned at her, marveling a bit. "It was brilliant. Really captured how most of us feel. It made me see a whole new side of you. And it made me want to get to know you more. Do you mind? If I get to know you?"

Sabrina looked at him thoughtfully. "Sure." She said, almost smiling. After all, today was her day. Puck was back, she had her friends back to normal, she'd talked in front of people, and _Puck_ was in charge of keeping her from running off on her own. Who was to say something else good wouldn't happen?

"Would it be OK if my friends got to know you, too?" Marcus asked. "The other humans? I think they'd like you, once they got to know you. You might even like them, too. I don't know, though, you seem like you don't like too many people."

"I like _some_ people." Sabrina said. "Sometimes. But did you... today?"

"If you want." Marcus offered. "We hang out in the not-a-room and do our own homework. It's lots of fun. Do you want to?"

They'd reached the library at this point. Sabrina looked from the door to Marcus, then back and again. Her friends would be expecting her. But... what if she could make _new_ friends? Daphne and Bella wouldn't mind. They'd probably be happy, actually. And then they could just have _one_ study group, and nobody would have to worry about it.

She looked at Marcus and grinned. "Sure." She said. "Just lemme..." She saw Art going in the library "Hey, Art, I'm going home today, could you tell everyone for me?"

Art nodded. "'Course. Have fun!"

"You're the best." Sabrina grinned at him. "I'll try."

Art waved her off, overtaken by a coughing fit, so he couldn't answer.

"Hey, you OK?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah." Art nodded, coughing again. "Just a cough."

"If you're sure, then." Sabrina said doubtfully.

Art nodded. "Go. I'll be fine." He entered the library, and the door swung shut before Sabrina could answer.

"Well, madame?" Marcus asked, offering her his arm. "Shall we?"

Sabrina just looked at his arm for a minute before walking off on her own. "I don't know you that well." She told him. "Yet."

Neither of then noticed Puck behind them, glaring daggers at Marcus' back.


	94. Ruining Everything

**AN~ Got this up a lot sooner than I thought I would. By... four days, seeing as it's after midnight.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: Not soLittle Girl with her epic story of her dad and Ethiopia. I was going to pick a funny one, but that blew my socks off.**

New Question of the Day: What's your dream job and why? We're pretending money is not an issue, unless that's the reason for your dream job.

**_Purpleflower23:_ It was VERY long. And then there was the sequel. I can certainly do a chapter in Puck's POV, but it probably won't be this one, is that OK?  
**

**_Not soLittle Girl:_ Holy wow. That's kind of epic. In a big way.**

**_warisha:_** Review 1:** I write like this 'cause I write too much and read too much. And then after I'm done I go back and edit, 'cause editing is what makes my writing not horrible. **Review 2:** ^/ / /^ I'm glad you like the Puckabrina slowness. I _am_ still looking for titles. The name probably won't change until the story's complete, but I will totally take your ideas into consideration, 'cause I'm stumped. **Review 3:** Wow. And I thought my sister dropping my other sister on the head as a baby was bad... **Review 4:** That's an unsafe bus driver. I disagree with your opinion on Sabrina's shyness (obviously). It is shown repeatedly throughout the books that she is very easily embarassed and doesn't want to be stared at. The only time she's the center of attention is when she loses her temper. Those and other things in the books are signs of an introvert, and introverts tend to be shy.  
**

_**Terces Society: **_**I love those books! Perhaps your friend has a behavioral food allergy. Like me with red dyes or my sister with... anything.**

* * *

"Where's Sabrina?" Daphne asked, when it became apparent that everyone in the study group except her sister was present.

"She went home." Art told her, emptying things out of his backpack onto the table. "Saw her with some guy, she said she'd-" he coughed, '-be at home today."

"Oh." Daphne blinked. "Who was-" Art coughed again, and she looked at him, worried. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah." Art nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bug. It was some human kid, one of the people staying in your house, I think."

Daphne squealed. "She's making _friends_! That's so cute!" Then she looked at Art curiously. "Puck said everafters don't get sick."

"Puck exaggerated." Art said, raising his eyebrows at the boy in question. "Fairies have great immune systems, yeah, but we can get sick. So can other everafters. In fact." He told Daphne, looking down at her, "You should probably stay away from me. If I caught it, there's a pretty good chance you will, too."

"I'll take my chances." Daphne said breezily.

Puck, who had been walking over, slammed his backpack onto the table and sat down in an empty chair with a thunk.

"Who put a bee in your bonnet?" Wendell asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I think I know." Bella said, smiling knowingly. "Sabrina was with another boy."

"Oh, shut up." Puck glared.

"Called it!" Bella grinned. "Relax." She told him. "She didn't, like, get another boyfriend while you were gone or something. In fact, she's been moping after you the whole month."

"What do you mean, _another _boyfriend?" Puck accused. "She's never had a boyfriend."

"Well, there was almost this one guy while we were in the orphanage, but then he got adopted and we never saw him again." Daphne said thoughtfully. "But she means you, Puck."

Puck snorted. "That's a laugh. As if I'd date that."

Everyone around the table gave him skeptical looks. He stared back at them for a minute, then looked down, tracing a design on the table.

"She hasn't said anything about some other guy?" He muttered.

"No." Bella said. "But if you don't move fast, she might."

Puck didn't say anything. There was silence until Art coughed again.

Bella looked over at him, concerned. "That doesn't sound good, Art. Are you sure you're all right?"

Art nodded without saying anything, rubbing his throat.

Bella switched positions so that her knees were on her chair and then leaned over the table to put her hand on Art's forehead. "You're not too warm..." She said. "What are your symptoms?"

"My throat is burning." Art said, making a face. "Other than that, I'm just coughing a lot. I'm fine, seriously."

Bella, looking unconvinced, went to sit back down, much to Wendell's disappointment. "Fine." She said. "But I think you should go see Nurse Spratt."

"If it doesn't clear up in a few days, sure." Art agreed.

"Good." Bella said. "We don't want you out of commission."

* * *

Sabrina was having a good time. She hadn't really expected to, so it was a nice surprise. Marcus' friends were a lot nicer than the other human kids she'd met, and most of them seemed to think that what she'd said to Snow was pretty cool.

"Why didn't you act like this before?" One girl, Annie, asked. "You were all... alone."

Sabrina shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I thought you didn't like me or something..."

Annie grinned. "Psh. What's not to like?"

"My thoughts exactly." Marcus said, nudging Sabrina's ribs with his elbow companionably. "You should do this more often."

"Actually..." Sabrina hedged, leaning back against the grass, "I'm already in my own study group, and they kind of need me there, otherwise things get out of hand. Today was an exception."

"Oh." Annie and Marcus, in particular, looked disappointed.

"But you guys could join us." Sabrina offered. "We meet in the library every day after school, and there's always someone to help with something, 'cause there's so many of us."

"Maybe." Annie said. "But they don't seem to like us too much, you know?"

"It's kind of like how I thought you guys didn't like me, actually." Sabrina said. "Show up, get to know them. They're pretty cool, for the most part."

"Sure-" Marcus cut of, looking at his watch. "Wow. That was fast. It's dinner time."

Sabrina stood, dusting herself off. "Well, I'll head back, then. It was nice talking to you."

She headed back to the door to the house, humming cheerfully for a few seconds before she stopped herself. She was Sabrina Grimm. She didn't _hum_.

"Grimm!" Someone- Puck, obviously. He was the only one who called her Grimm that would be in the house. "What took you so long?"

"I was talking." Sabrina snapped. "What are you doing here?" Puck hadn't gone back in his old room since Granny had given it away.

"The Old Lady sent me to get you for dinner." Puck said angrily. "If you'd come down on your own, I wouldn't have had to be here."

"Well, I'm sorry for throwing off your precious lazy schedule." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"You should be." Puck grumbled. "So should that guy."

"Who, Marcus?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah, your precious _Marcus_." Puck sneered. "Since when are you friends with those people anyway?"

"Since today, actually." Sabrina said. "What have you got against them?"

"They're living in my room!" Puck declared. "And I see this as a definite shifting of sides, Grimm!"

"What, because I made friends with people other than you?" Sabrina snapped. "I should have done it ages ago! It's not like you were really _here_ for the past month and a half!"

"Oh, sure, play the 'I left' card!" Puck glared. "That's not what you were saying last night!"

"That's because last night you weren't being a jerk!" Sabrina half-shouted, stalking off towards the kitchen.

"_I'm_ being a jerk?" Puck asked, incredulous. He grabbed Sabrina's arm, stopping her from leaving. "Who just ditched me for some new guy?"

"What's wrong with Marcus?" Sabrina demanded. "He's nicer than _you_."

"Oh, is that what you see in him?" Puck asked. "I'll tell all your other new boyfriends that they have to be nice! Hey, everybody! Sabrina only likes nice guys!"

"Boyfriend?" Sabrina asked, incredulous. "What boyfriend? I only started talking to Marcus today! We're not dating! I've never had a boyfriend, and knowing the guys in this town, I never will!"

"Does he know that?" Puck asked, his voice suddenly, dangerously quiet.

"What?" Sabrina's brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course he does. Why would he think we'd be anything other than friends?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you." Puck said darkly. "I know what that look means, Grimm, and it's not friendship."

"Oh?" Sabrina asked, feigning innocence with wide eyes and a pursed mouth. "What's that look, then?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Puck pressed, not lightening up.

"Maybe I do." Sabrina said. "But I'm confused, Mr. 'I Don't Like Girls'. How do _you_ recognize this look, if you've never worn it yourself?"

"Maybe I have." Puck shot back. "How would you know? Just 'cause I'm not interested in _you_ like that doesn't mean I don't like other girls!"

The cutting retort Sabrina had planned dropped from her mind completely, and she swayed a bit on her feet, fighting back tears and beating herself up inside for letting that get to her so badly. She'd _known_ he didn't like her. Known it! So why did this hurt so much, the confirmation of what she already knew?

Maybe it was that before, no matter how much she'd known it, she'd had hope.

But still. So what if Puck didn't like her? She wasn't going to give him the added bonus of knowing that comment had won the argument!

"Fine then." Sabrina said. "Since you care so little, why don't you just get your stupid little upturned nose out of my life and let me deal with my own problems?"

Puck shook his head, smiling grimly. "Oh, no, Grimm, you're not getting rid of me that easy. You'd be dead or raped or something in under a week without me around."

"I survived eleven years and last month on my own just fine!" Sabrina retorted.

"Because Daphne was there to watch your back!" Puck snapped. "What do you think she was doing last month?"

"Making new friends!" Sabrina shouted. "Which is what I was trying to do today! Dammit, Puck, why do you have to ruin everything?"

Now there _were_ tears in her eyes. She brushed the back of her wrist against them roughly, glaring at the shocked expression on his face. "Go ahead, laugh." She challenged. "It's not like you could get any meaner."

Puck's eyes softened. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Grimm." He told her, taking a few tiny steps closer.

"Yeah, well, you do a pretty good job of that on your own." She sniffed.

"I don't mean to." Puck apologized. He'd continued to make those baby steps, and now he wrapped his arm around her tentatively.

Sabrina shrugged him off. As much as she craved his touch, it hurt too much, knowing he didn't want it like she did.

Puck pulled back, hurt.

It was her turn to apologize. How awful was it that she still didn't want to hurt him (now that she was thinking straight), even after what he'd done to her. "Look, just... let me handle it? You might be right, maybe I'll come crawling back to you 'cause he's bad news, but this'll be the first time I've made friends without any help in years. Can you let me? You're being as overprotective as my dad."

"Ooh, that's low." Bella's cheerful voice came from around the corner.

"How long have you been listening?" Sabrina asked, feeling her face heat up.

"A while now." Bella grinned. "Actually, I think the whole house could hear you. The only reason we didn't break it up before now is 'cause it was actually kind of amusing. But you sounded done, and we're hungry. So finish your lovers' spat after dinner, 'kay?"

"We're not." Sabrina said roughly. "Stop it with the dating jokes. They're not funny."

"Fine." Bella said, raising her hands in the air. "Jeesh."

She led the way back into the kitchen, and Sabrina, following her, was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of fresh french bread, spaghetti, and meatballs. She smiled a little: those had always been her comfort food. Unfortunately, the only empty seats at the crowded table were next to each other, which meant she'd have to sit next to Puck, when all she wanted to do was get away from him before she burst into tears.

She made it through the meal, somehow. But as soon as it was over, she rushed off to her bedroom, ignoring the fact that it was her night for dish duty.

"Sabrina, wait! You forgot your-" Henry called after her.

"Leave it." She heard Veronica's voice as she ran off. "She needs to be alone right now."

"But why?"

Sabrina didn't hear the rest of the conversation, she'd already run to her room and slammed the door behind her, still fighting back tears. She was going to collapse on the bed, but then she remembered that Daphne's friends would be there, so she shoved the window open and climbed outside, ready to bawl her eyes out.

But the tears wouldn't come. So she just sat on the roof, feeling dejected and rejected, thinking that it would be better if she _could_ have a good cry and get it over with.

"Hey." Daphne said, sticking her head out the window.

"Hi." Sabrina muttered, not looking at her sister. "Aren't you going to hang out with your buddies?"

Daphne shook her head, crawling out the window and sitting next to her sister. "You needed me more."

"Well, thanks." Sabrina half-smiled. "Glad to know I'm needy."

Daphne ignored that and sat down under the window next to Sabrina, leaning against her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "It's just... arguing with Puck right after he got back... I missed him, you know? And I was hoping we'd be able to get along for another day or two before things went back to... that."

"It was a pretty bad fight." Daphne agreed. "Not loud, exactly, but... mean. In a new way. A grown-up way."

Sabrina nodded. "I don't think I want to grow up, Daphne. Things get more complicated. It was way easier when evil was evil, and it was just you and me against the world. Now there's all these people that I'm not sure how I should feel about, and it's not just punching, it's words."

"You could stop." Daphne offered. "Stay fourteen forever."

Sabrina laughed, hollow and bitter. "I can't." She said. "I have too much left to learn, and it's so much harder to learn when you don't grow up. Look at all the Everafters. They don't change really well, you know?"

"So what are you going to do, then?" Daphne asked.

"Deal with it." Sabrina responded, quoting Puck from last night. "I just wish it didn't hurt so much."

"You two should make up." Daphne said promptly.

Sabrina shook her head. "It's not that easy. We both said stuff that doesn't go away that fast."

"It would if you were dating." Daphne glanced upward at her sister out of the corner of her eyes.

"That would probably make it worse." Sabrina made a face. Oh, how she wished...

"Will you at least talk to him?" Daphne asked. "For me?"

"Maybe." Sabrina said. "Tomorrow."

"What about Bella?" Daphne asked. "Talk to her now."

"Trying to get rid of me, are you?" Sabrina asked, only half joking.

"Trying to keep you from moping for the rest of ever, actually." Daphne said. "You're just not happy when you and Puck aren't making fun of each other."

"I thought that's what we did to get ourselves into this mess." Sabrina pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was mean." Daphne explained. "Normally when you do it, you're both having fun."

Sabrina gave Daphne a skeptical look. "Right. I just love arguing."

"You do." Daphne said simply.

"Fine." Sabrina said, standing. "I'll go talk to Bella." She unfurled her wings and jogged off the edge of the roof, spreading her wings out like a parachute to slow her fall.

Daphne, smiling, headed back into the house.

When Sabrina found Bella, her best friend took one look at her face and followed her onto the porch.

"Wassup?" She asked, sitting on the steps and staring into the woods outside the house, where a few lights flickered, held at a distance by Sabrina's barrier.

Sabrina took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "He told me he doesn't like me."

"Oh, sweetie..." Bella wrapped her arms around Sabrina's shoulders. "I'm sorry. You want to talk about it?"

Sabrina shook her head, but, almost in spite of herself, said, "It feels like I've got no reason to keep trying, like every second I've spent with him was a waste, but I don't want to stop, and I know there's no hope, but I'm still hoping, and I feel so _stupid_!"

Bella, to her credit, didn't say anything.

"Do you think it'll get better?" Sabrina asked.

"Maybe." Bella said. "Maybe he'll get over whoever it is. Or maybe you can move on, now. It's just a crush, after all. Isn't it?"

Sabrina shrugged. "How do I know? What's the difference between a crush and love?"

"I dunno." Bella shrugged. "Maybe you should try, though. Go boy shopping."

"With who?" Sabrina asked. "You're the only girl I'd do that with, and you're in a relationship."

"Maybe not for much longer." Bella said quietly.

Sabrina sat up straight, hair whipping as she turned her head to stare at her friend. "Come again?"

"I think I'm going to break up with Wendell." Bella said.

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "You're happy together!"

"'Cause I think I like someone else, too." Bella said. "I still like Wendell, don't get me wrong. I like him a lot. But this guy... I like him, too. And I can't keep going out with Wendell unless I'm totally committed to our relationship, so I need to sort through this. It's not fair to anyone if I don't. It's not fair to this guy, 'cause I'm a flirt, and I know it, and I'm trying to stop, but around him I can't, and it's not fair to me 'cause it's just so confusing, and what if I miss out on the right guy? And it's not fair to Wendell, 'cause he deserves a girl who can give him her all."

"That's... wow." Sabrina said. "That's a tough choice. I'm proud of you for making it."

"Thanks." Bella smiled slightly, standing. "Now come on, we've both got some serious talks to have tomorrow, so we'd better get a good night's sleep."


	95. Gossips

**AN~ New rule for the question of the day thing: if you're going to be eligible, you have to actually review the story, not just answer the question. On another note, I'm going to try to get 100 chapters by Thursday, since it was pointed out to me that that's the three year anniversary of NGHC.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: I had a really hard time picking, because most of the answers were pretty intense and awesome and full of holy-wow-you-people-are-going-to-change-the-world-ness. But the winner is ANannyMouse because she wants to be a Walmart Greeter. And that just made my day, that comment.**

New Question of the Day: Tell me a corny joke. A new one. The cornier, the better.

**_Eponine thenardier:_ You reviewed just in time to be in the running! I was JUST about to update when I got your review. Is Oliver still on Broadway? I didn't know that. I love musicals.**

**_Ghost Reader:_ I know you wrote this on 'Birth of a Pixie', but you said in your review that you read this story, so I'm going to respond here, just because that means you get a response. :) I appreciate all your points, and am glad I convinced you to review. I think that the problem with ff is that you can't sort by popularity, like you can with DeviantART. Because there are some genuinely good fanfics out there, but they're (for the most part) rarely updated. I know I don't WRITE a lot of Puckabrina (if you want something a little more... laden of mine, 'Mashed Potatoes and Wedding Cakes', 'TwentyFive', 'Read 1, Get 2 Free', and 'Hundred' all have their fluffy spots. Especially 'Mashed Potatoes and Wedding Cakes', which is a lot younger than the others, and thus, better), but that doesn't mean I don't like it. I love romance. It's why I came here in the first place. I just don't like WRITING straight romance. It bores me. So I take well more than my share of time.**

**_Agd:_ You're in luck. I was GOING to save the intense Puckabrina for the very end, but then I decided to move it up. You've got maybe three more plot arcs, and then they'll get serious. Sabrina's shy because that's the way I picture her. If you notice, she doesn't like to be the focal point unless she's angry. People who care that much about what other people think of them (look how easy she blushes) tend to be shy. And oh, good, I thought maybe you'd gotten mad at me for not wanting to stick to one thing.  
**

**_Purpleflower23:_ Thanks! :D I appreciate the praise  
**

**_warisha: _Well, yes, those things happen. Sometime in the future. Not necessarily in that order. But THIS is actually a setback. Puck just told her he doesn't like her. Your first dream job: ME TOO! Actually, people expected me to be a doctor 'cause both my parents are... Your second dream job: Wow. Big dreams, there. *cowers in inferiority*  
**

**_Demigod536:_ Well, kind of. :) And it's fine.**

**_QN:_ Thanks for the review! The title is a bit too dramatic, but I was stumped on one, and I was like, 'hey! I'll take something from in the story!' My goal is to have a chapter up by every Friday. :)**

* * *

The library was more crowded than usual today after school, because Marcus, Annie, and quite a few of their friends had all taken Sabrina up on her offer to merge the two study groups. Daphne had taken Sabrina's acceptance of the humans as her cue to invite her friends permanently to the group, and now everyone was trying to work out a new way to organize things. Sabrina was trying to keep out of the way, hiding in the stacks by a window, with Peaseblossom.

"What's up?" Peaseblossom asked.

"Nothing." Sabrina said. "What makes you think something's up?"

"That's the fifth time you've sighed since we got here." Peaseblossom pointed out. "Something must be wrong. You're not a sigh-er."

"Your brother is what's wrong, if you must know." Sabrina glared at a bug on the window, which suddenly started floating.

The bug's legs flailed as it tried frantically to make gravity start working again. Sabrina, a bit guiltily, let the bug back down.

"What did he do now?" Peaseblossom asked, smiling a little. Sabrina had a feeling she was thinking 'I should have guessed'.

"Nothing." Sabrina made a face. "Nothing at all. And even if he had, I wouldn't tell you."

"Ooh, it's bad, then?" Peaseblossom asked.

Sabrina sighed again.

"All, right, dish." Peaseblossom said. "I can't take the teen angst!"

"It's just..." Sabrina screwed up her face, "He told me he doesn't like me."

"Oh." Peaseblossom says. "Ouch."

"Yeah." Sabrina said.

"Are you sure?" Peaseblossom asked. "He could have been lying."

"Yeah, except I kind of have this thing where I can tell when people are lying, and he wasn't." Sabrina said. "I've had it for a while, so I'm pretty sure."

"You sure?" Peaseblossom asked. "You've been losing stuff lately. Maybe you lost that and didn't notice."

"Try it." Sabrina suggested.

"All right." Peaseblossom said. "Do I just... lie?"

"Yeah, that's about it." Sabrina nodded.

"I... am wearing pink underwear today." Peaseblossom said, fumbling around in her mind for a lie that wouldn't be incriminating.

Her face flashed red, and Sabrina responded promptly, "False."

"Yeah, but how do I know you're not faking?" Peaseblossom pointed out. "I mean, you could totally have told me that to make me think that you still have that ability when you don't."

"Why in the name of all things normal would I do that?" Sabrina asked. "It works, trust me."

Peaseblossom made a face. "I liked the idea of you two together." She said. "You made him care about other people. Not that he didn't before, it's just... You got him to stop putting his shallow, selfish side before everything else. And now..."

"Yeah, well, it's not going to happen." Sabrina said, folding her arms on the windowsill and shoving her chin in between them sulkily.

"What did he say, exactly?" Peaseblossom asked.

"'Just because I don't like you that way doesn't mean I don't like someone else'." Sabrina mimicked, not lifting her head up.

"How do you know he meant it, then?" Peaseblossom asked, brightening. "It could only work with exact lies, and that wasn't him saying he didn't-"

"Stop!" Sabrina half-shouted, sitting up and putting a hand in front of Peaseblossom's face. "Just stop, OK? I already thought about it, but..." She softened a bit, "I've already had my hope taken away. I don't want to get it back just to lose it again."

Peaseblossom looked as if she were going to say something else, but suddenly a bookcase fell over, knocking into its neighbor and causing that one to lean into the shelf next to it, all three of them spilling books left and right.

Sabrina stood up, making a face. "'Scuse me." She told Peaseblossom. "I'm going to go...vent my frustrations."

"Have fun."Peaseblossom chirped.

Sabrina half-smiled at Peaseblossom as she rounded the corner and said, "Oh, I will."

* * *

Puck was mad at the world. Specifically, he was mad at confusing teenage girls who made him say things he didn't mean and then got mad at him without telling him why. But he was mad at everyone else, too. How dare they be happy? Today was not a day to be happy.

"Puck, I need _help_!" Renee complained. "I don't understand this problem!"

"Yeah, well... go get Mustardseed to fix it for you." Puck shrugged. "I'm not in the mood."

"What's _with_ you?" Renee asked, standing. "You're so moody!"

"Renee." Art said pointedly.

The three of them, as well as Jonas, were sitting at a table in the midst of the chaos, waiting for people to settle down enough that they could actually get stuff done. Well, anyway, that's what Art, Jonas, and Renee were doing. Puck was sulking, which was very obvious because he sat there, leaning on the table, with his arms folded in front of them and the bottom of his face buried in his arms, almost mirroring Sabrina's pose across the room. Normally, he'd have been in the middle of the chaos, making it worse than ever, but today he just didn't feel up to it.

"What?" Renee asked. "What did I do? He's the one being all teen angst drama-ey!"

Art gave Renee a pointed stare that Puck pretended not to see, and jerked his head at Puck, mouthing, _fought with Sabrina_.

"I'm right here." Puck pointed out. "I can see everything you're doing."

"All right, then." Art said, shrugging.

"Why don't you two just go out already?" Renee asked. "It'd be so much simpler for all of us."

"Ah, but Puck told Sabrina last night that he doesn't like her." Art said, smiling knowingly. His expression was ruined by a large sniffle as he wiped his running nose.

"How do you _know_ all this stuff?" Jonas marveled.

"Daphne." Art coughed out, holding his throat.

"Gosh, maybe I should get up close and personal with one of the 'in the know' people." Jonas joked. "Then I wouldn't have to wait to find anything out."

"Sabrina's free, now." Renee pointed out.

Puck sat up straight, slamming his palm down on the table. Then, seeing the others staring at him knowingly, he sank back down into his sulk position and said, "What?"

"Honestly." Renee said. "I'm giving you two until next school year starts, and if you're not together, I'm going to start interfering."

Puck said nothing. And was prevented from saying anything more by the appearance of Wendell, walking up to them with an empty, dazed expression.

"What's wrong?" Renee asked. "Where's Bella? Wasn't she just with you?"

Art nodded, coughing again.

"Yeah." Wendell said, staring at nothing. "She just broke up with me."

Everyone but Puck burst into activity, causing pandemonium at the table. Art practically tipped it over while jumping up, Renee began talking a mile a minute, shooting questions left and right, and Jonas just shouted a long stream of unintelligible nonsense while slamming the table back to its rightful position post-Art.

"Why?" Renee finally asked, once they'd all calmed down.

Wendell shrugged, not looking nearly as shocked by their performance as he normally would have. "She didn't say."

There was a loud crash, and Puck noticed several bookcases fall over. A few seconds later, Sabrina appeared around them, shouting. He couldn't make out what she was saying over all the other shouts, but he watched her, chin in his hand. She was beautiful when she was angry. Her eyes flashed brighter than usual, her face flushed just enough that she wasn't as pale as she normally was, and every muscle in her body was tensed. She looked so alive.

"I bet Sabrina knows why Bella did that." Art suggested. "Hey, Sabrina!" He shouted, taking full advantage of his huge chest to be louder than everyone else.

"What?" Sabrina snapped. "I'm in the middle of something."

"They can handle it without you." Art said. "We need to talk to you." He pointed at Wendell, who was still standing there staring into space.

Sabrina, noticing Wendell for the first time, lost her glare, eyes widening, and hurried over. "Wassup?" She asked, once she'd reached them.

"Why'd she break up with him?" Jonas asked.

"Wow, Jonas, way to be tactful." Renee accused.

Wendell didn't even bother to respond, though he switched his vague gaze to Sabrina.

"She didn't tell you?" Sabrina asked Wendell. "She said she was going to."

Wendell shook his head. "She just said she wanted us to se other people."

Sabrina sat down, pulling Wendell with her. "She doesn't not like you anymore, if that's what you're thinking."

"Well, what else am I supposed to think?" Wendell asked. "It's not like people just break up with each other for no reason!"

"I know." Sabrina said. "She likes you, though. But she had a reason. She likes someone else, too. So she's trying to work things out."

"Can you like two people at once?" Jonas asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes." Sabrina, Art, and Renee answered in tandem.

Puck continued to stare at Sabrina silently, wishing she'd look back at him. Why was she ignoring him? Had he been that nasty last night?

"So she's got to sort through who she likes more before she gets back together with you." Sabrina said. "Look at it this way: at least she's being honest. She's not cheating on you or something."

"Yeah, I guess." Wendell said absently, tracing a design on the table with his fingertip.

"Come on, Wendell, let's go help them get the shelves back up." Renee said sympathetically. "We'll get you a distraction."

She stood, pulling poor Wendell with her, and leaving Sabrina and Puck with Art and Jonas at the table.

"I think I'm going to go help them, too." Art said after a few seconds of silence. "Those shelves are pretty big."

Jonas stayed put. Art gave him a look. Jonas took a while to get the hint, but he eventually stood, saying, "I'm going to go use the bathroom."

Art walked off, still coughing.

Sabrina snorted. "They're so funny when they try to be tactful."

"Right." Puck said. "So... I guess we need to talk?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "I guess."

"What did I do?" Puck asked.

"Oh, nothing much." Sabrina said. "Just ruined my formerly awesome day by getting all overprotective and pretty much calling me a slut who can't take care of herself."

"I didn't mean it like that." Puck muttered.

"How did you mean it, then?" Sabrina snapped. "'Cause that's what it sounded like!"

There was a heavy thump in the background as the first bookshelf was put back into place. Neither Sabrina nor Puck turned to look.

"I just meant..." Puck fumbled for words. "You get yourself in situations, Grimm. And... dangit, I hate _talking_ about this stuff. Anything I say is going to come out wrong. Can I get someone to translate for me?"

"No." Sabrina said, straight-faced. "I enjoy watching you suffer."

Puck blinked. "Do you mean that, or...?"

Sabrina shook her head, smiling a bit. "No. Though you deserve it. What you said _hurt_, Puck. Like, seriously 'I can't believe you said that' hurt."

"Well, I'm sorry." Puck stressed. "I got carried away last night. It wasn't... I don't really think you're that kind of girl."

Sabrina sighed. "And that's all the apology I'm going to get, isn't it? I guess I'll make do."

"You should be greatful!" Puck huffed, wondering if possibly things were going to go back to normal. "I'm the Trickster King! I don't apologize!"

"I guess I'm honored, then." Sabrina joked.

Puck grinned. Things _were_ normal again.

In the background, there was another large thud and a loud cheer. Apparently Art had gotten the shelves back where they belonged. Puck checked. They were upright, but none of the books had been put back. He should probably go help, but he decided he'd claim allergy if anyone asked him.

"So..." Sabrina said after a minute. "This girl you like..."

"What about her?" Puck asked.

"Do I know her?" Sabrina put her hands on her chair and sidled a little closer to him, shoving her shoulders up.

"Not really." Puck hedged, deciding that it was safe to say that. She _didn__'t_ know her, after all... But he'd have to watch his step, with her lying thing.

"Is she pretty?" Sabrina asked.

"Gorgeous." Puck agreed, glad he could be totally honest with that question.

"Does she go to school here?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah." Puck said. Gosh, what was this? The Spanish Inquisition?

"So how do I not know her?" Sabrina asked. "If she goes to school here... Is she in the Scarlet Hand?"

All right, that was enough. He sat up straight and said firmly, "We're not having this conversation."

"Fine." Sabrina put her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. "I'm going to go help them clean up books. Stay here if you want."

Puck watched her walk off, wondering when she'd picked up that hip-swaying walk. It was quite distracting. After a few seconds, he decided that sitting there by himself was pretty pathetic, so he got up to follow her.

He didn't pick up books, of course, just leaned there and watched her do it, which, in his opinion was far better. He got to watch her this way. He loved watching her, would do it all the time if he could. Especially when she was paying attention to something else.

"Are you going to ask her out?" Sabrina asked, lifting a book off the floor and adding it to the stack in her other hand.

"No." Puck said, realizing that he could lie all he wanted when she wasn't looking. Of course, that wasn't a lie, but...

"Why not?" Sabrina asked, carrying her stack to the shelves, where Alice was waiting to replace them in order.

"Because she doesn't like me." Puck answered.

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked. "If I don't know her, you obviously don't see her too often. Unless you're, like, sneaking out to see her, or you met her last month. Did you?"

"Grimm, I already told you we're not having this conversation!" Puck snapped. "I'm not Bella, we don't talk about crushes together!"

"Geesh." Sabrina made a face. "Don't get so defensive. I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Well, why do you care?" Puck asked. "It's my business."

"I'm trying to be supportive." Sabrina snapped. "I _could_ be like you and be like, 'you're going to get yourself hurt if you even go _near_ someone of the opposite sex!' Would you rather I did that?"

"No." Puck said mulishly. "I just want you to stop asking me questions. If I wanted you to know, I'd tell you!"

"All right, then!" Sabrina snapped, dumping her newest stack of books into Alice's hands roughly. "Be like that!"

"I will!" Puck retorted, shoving himself off the bookcase he was leaning on.

Alice sighed. "Can you two cool it for now? It's so much nicer when you're not fighting."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at Alice, but smiled. "Fine." She looked at Puck. "Truce?"

Puck nodded, wondering why girls had to be so complicated. One minute they were fighting, the next minute they were done. It was like they were all bipolar.

Art, who had been helping pick up books, too, slumped over suddenly, sliding down the wall, coughing heavily.

"Are you OK?" Renee asked, crouching down next to him.

Art shook his head, clutching his throat and still coughing. "Burns." He choked out around lung spasms.

Everyone stared at Art gave another cough and a flame came out of his mouth, singeing Renee's hair.

"Art..." Sabrina said, "I think we should get you to Nurse Spratt, and fast."

Art nodded and pushed himself up off the floor. He stood there for a second, wobbling, then began walking unsteadily for the front of the room. He got about halfway when he collapsed two feet from Tim and Daphne.


	96. Triangles

**AN~ Well, I didn't get a HUNDRED chapters by the three year anniversary, but I got 99. Is that close enough? My baby's three years old!**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: QN with 'If the king sits on gold, who sits on silver? The Lone Ranger!' because it was one I hadn't heard before and it struck me as very funny for some reason.**

New Question of the Day: What would be the dumbest superpower/hero ever? (Think Moist from _Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog_)

**_Mai:_ Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're glad it's not just romance.**

**_Jenna: _Thanks for the awesometastic long review! You're right about the school, I let myself run away a bit with it because it was a baby of mine (never a good idea), and if I ever do a full-out rewrite of this (unlikely, considering the length), I'll shorten that up a bit. Sorry this response is so short compared to your review, but I appreciated it a lot!**

**_Ninjabunny:_ I'm trying to finish it by May. Not sure it's going to work, but we can hope.**

**_siverwombat:_ Tim didn't do it! Lie detection: back at the beginning of the story, Sabrina got the ability to tell when someone was lying. Haven't used it much recently. Welcome back to the reviewer's circle!**

**_Mai (of chapter 85):_ It most certainly IS an AVPM reference!**

**_warisha:_ But there are OTHER stories you can read for drama! And they probably do it better. I HOPE I can make a difference. And yeah, for lawyer you've got to do all that bar stuff and whatnot. I just have to not stink. My parents are both doctors. A lot of people were like, 'you're going to be a doctor, too, right?' and I was like 'no' and they gave me a really incredulous look. Which is about the same scenario as when people asked me if I was excited about my two youngest siblings being born. I KNOW THAT JOKE! I saw it on a website! It made me excited.  
**

**_Not soLittle Girl:_ Yeah, your story was pretty awesome.**

**_QN:_ Yeah, there's only so much even _I_ can put up with before Puck and Sabrina need to get together. You've actually already met Bella's mystery guy. You just don't know it. I won't talk about Art 'cause that's in the chapter, but as for your joke: Psh. *snicker***

* * *

"Art?" Daphne asked worriedly, kneeling down by the collapsed boy.

The others rushed over, eyes wide. Everyone had noticed when Art fell because he made such a huge thud.

"How on earth are we going to get him to Nurse Spratt now?" Puck muttered.

"Art, wake up!" Daphne's voice was a bit panicked now, and she shook his shoulder roughly.

"He might not wake up for ages, Daphne." Bella said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We don't know what's wrong with him. The best thing to to do would be to get him to Nurse Spratt as fast as we can."

"Which again begs the question, how are we going to lift him?" Puck asked. "I mean, normally I'd just change into something big and go, but I don't think I'd fit through the door."

Sabrina sighed, and Art lifted off the floor. "Someone's going to have to guide him, though. I can only really make him weightless."

Jonas stepped forward. "I'll do it." He offered.

Sabrina nodded, and then the procession began to head out the door. Sabrina turned. "Where are you all going?" She asked.

"To Nurse Spratt's." Puck said in a 'duh' voice.

Sabrina shook her head, looking at Bella for confirmation. "It's a bad idea to have that many people there, isn't it?"

Bella nodded. "We should all stay here, guys. Just Sabrina and Jonas. We can visit later."

"But-" Daphne protested.

"No buts." Bella said firmly. "What if this is contagious, Daphne? Let Nurse Spratt figure it out, then go see him."

"Fine." Daphne made a face. "But I don't have to like it."

"There'd be something wrong with you if you did." Bella said.

Sabrina and Jonas disappeared, and Puck relaxed a bit, looking around the room at the shocked faces.

"Is your study group usually this... exciting?" The new boy, Marcus or whatever Sabrina had called him, asked.

"Not always." Bella said. Was she... blushing? Puck knew a blush when he saw one, and Bella was definitely blushing when she looked at that kid. So _that_ was who she broke up with Wendell for. She could do better.

Daphne was still staring at the door, and Puck recognized that look, too: she was planning on running after them.

"Marshmallow." He said warningly. "Don't even think about it."

"What?" Daphne asked, her jaw set forward. "I'm not thinking about anything."

"Sure..." Puck said. "Go talk to Tim or Red."

"Fine." Daphne pouted, crossing her arms and stalking over to Red.

Puck watched her, eyes narrowed. He was pretty sure that she was not done with that.

"Keep an eye on her." Peaseblossom muttered to him. "She's going to sneak off after Art as soon as you look away."

"I know that." He said testily. "I've been living with her for the past two and a half years."

"Well excuse me for trying to be helpful." Peaseblossom snapped.

"You're being a busybody big sister, same as you always are." Puck rolled his eyes. "I'm old enough to take care of myself, you know."

"I'm sorry, it's habit!" Peaseblossom explained. "It's not like you weren't young and stupid for millenia or anything."

"It's an annoying habit." Puck glared at her.

"Fine, I'll try to stop." Peaseblossom said, raising her hands in surrender.

"Good." Puck said. "Now what do you want?"

"I just came to talk." Peaseblossom said. "Don't get your boxers in a bunch."

"I'm not wearing boxers."

"Briefs, then." Peaseblossom shuddered. "Not that I wanted to know..."

"Right." Puck said. "Talk about what?"

"Just... talk." Peaseblossom said. "Like family's supposed to. Do I have to have an ulterior motive?"

"You always have before." Puck pointed out.

Peaseblossom sighed and said, "Let's just sit, okay?"

"Fine." Puck said, making a face and walking over to the table Daphne, Red, and Tim were seated around.

Peaseblossom followed, smiling a little at Daphne as she pulled out a chair. Daphne gave Peaseblossom a small, fake smile in return.

"He'll be fine."Red said, putting a hand on Daphne's knee. "You'll see."

"But what if he's not?" Daphne asked. "What if he dies or something and I'm stuck here?"

"You wouldn't be able to help anyway." Tim pointed out. "You'll do a lot more good if you stay here and do your homework."

"How do you know?" Daphne shot back. "It's not like you talk to him ever anyway!" She shoved her chair back and stalked off towards the books.

"Daphne!" Tim called, wheeling his way after her.

Red watched them go for a minute, then stood.

"Leave them." Peaseblossom said, putting a hand on her arm. "They need to sort it out."

"I know." Red said. "I was going to go talk to Blue."

"Oh." Peaseblossom said, blushing a bit and removing her hand from the younger girl's arm. "Right."

"Told you you need to stop being a busybody." Puck grinned at his older sister as Red walked off.

"Oh, shut it." Peaseblossom said, leaning back in her chair. "You may only be two years smaller anymore, but I can still beat you at whatever kind of fighting you start."

"You wish." Puck sneered.

"Let's see." Peaseblossom offered. "Right here, right now. You pick."

"Nah." Puck leaned back on his chair, too, putting the front two feet in the air and balancing. "I don't need to prove myself."

"Keep telling yourself that, bucko." Peaseblossom grinned.

"You sound like Sabrina." Puck muttered. "Have you been trading notes with her or something?"

"No, but now that you bring her up..." Peaseblossom started.

"And now we get to it." Puck muttered.

"I'm not that much of a busybody, OK?" Peaseblossom snapped. "But she and I were talking, and you seriously hurt her."

"Yeah, and we worked it out earlier, so you can stop now, all right?" Puck asked. "Seriously, woman."

"All right, so if you've worked it out, does she know you lied to her?" Peaseblossom crossed her arms.

"Heck no!" Puck snapped. "I worked hard on that, I'm not going to tell her I can pull on over her after all!"

"Why not?" Peaseblossom asked. "It would make things so much easier!"

"Look, just 'cause you broke up with your husband doesn't mean I need to get together with anyone." Puck snapped.

"I know it's just-" Peaseblossom stopped and took a deep breath. "I want you to be happy, Puck. And I'm afraid you're going to ruin your chances at it."

"I know." Puck muttered. "I know, I know, and I bet I am, it's just... I'm scared, Pease."

"Scared of what?" Peaseblossom asked.

"Messing it up." Puck said. "I know I will. So I'm just going to let her do her own thing."

"How do you know?" Peaseblossom asked."

"Think about it." Puck said. "When has anything ever worked out right with me? I mean, look what I did to Mustardseed! And you! And mom, and I've hurt her before-"

"But you might not do it this time." Peaseblossom pointed out. "What's gotten into you, Puck? You're usually so confident."

"Yeah, well, ever think that maybe it's fake?" Puck sneered, still balancing his chair on two legs. "That maybe what mom and dad said _all the FRIGGIN' time_ about me being useless might have had an effect?"

"Oh." Peaseblossom said quietly, "I didn't-"

She was interrupted by a large _whump_ and several hrieks.

"Man, it's hectic here today." She muttered, turning. "First the bookshelves, then Art, now-"

She stopped, staring.

Puck's chair fell over backwards.

Climbing up, his face red, he said, "A tree. In the library."

Peaseblossom nodded, mouth gaping.

It was indeed a tree. Quite a large tree, too, with spreading branches that were necessarily low and twising but nonetheless full of greenery. It was rather thicker in one direction than the other, and was sandwiched between two bookshelves. In fact, it appeared to have quite recently _been_ a bookshelf. Daphne stood in front of it, staring.

"What did you do, Marshmallow?" Puck asked, walking over to the crowd that was forming around the bookshelf/tree.

"I didn't _mean_ to!" Daphne protested. "I was just worried about Art, and wishing I could do something, and I got kind of mad at Tim and... well, maybe death in general, and I... I lost control."

"When you lose control, you go all out." Peter marveled at her, running a hand up the tree bark.

The wide side of the tree was still shelves, but the fronts were covered in bark, and the inside was living wood, even though it didn't have any covering or sap running through it. Puck blinked. It was pretty awesome. Too bad it was a bookshelf and not a prison for small annoying people, though.

"Will it survive in here, though?" Tiger Lily asked. "There's no soil or fresh air."

Alice opened a window and looked at Daphne. "Well?" She said. "You brought it to life. Make it stay alive."

Daphne put a hand on the tree/shelf and closed her eyes. A root stretched out from it with a creak, across the floor, between one of the lost boys' legs, up the wall, and out the window down toward the ground.

Annie shivered. "That's great, but now we can't close the window."

"Maybe we should just go home." Jane suggested. "We're none of us going to get much done anyway. I'll stop by Snow's office and tell her about the window on the way out."

"Sounds good." Renee agreed, heading back to the table where his bag was. "See ya tomorrow, everyone."

Most of the rest of the kids headed out, too, and Puck held his hand out to Daphne. "Whadda ya say, Marshmallow? Want a ride home?"

Daphne shook her head and morphed into a small black bird, hopping over to the open window. Puck shrugged and turned to the other kids who he probably ought to take home- Red, the two humans, and Bella. "Well?" He asked.

Red stuck her hand into Puck's with a small smile, and Bella did her frog thing, hopping to his leg and climbing it with her stickyness to his pocket. The other two stood there awkwardly.

"C'mon." Puck said, holding his hand out to them. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Can we all fit out that window?" The girl, Annie, asked doubtfully. "It looks kind of small."

"O ye of little faith." Puck said. "Just grab my hand, will you? I'm not poisonous."

The two looked at each other, shrugged, and the boy- why did it have to be the boy?- grabbed his hand. The girl grabbed the boy's, and they were off.

It _was_ a bit of a tight squeeze out the window, with the root, but they fit, and Puck got them home safe, making a point to squeeze the boy's hand extra tight. He hoped he was cutting off his circulation. The girl shivered a lot, which threw him off a bit- so did having so much weight on one side, for that matter. He'd liked it much better when it was Sabrina and Daphne. They weighed almost exactly the same- and a few spatters of rain fell now and again, but it was nice enough being in the air that he could ignore it.

When they got home, they were met by Sabrina, who stood on the porch with her serious face on, her arm around Daphne.

"What's wrong?" Red asked.

"They don't know." Sabrina said tightly. "That's the problem. But they're keeping Art here. And we're not allowed inside."

"What?" Marcus asked, starting forward.

"Oh, you two are." Sabrina told Marcus and Annie. "They don't think it's a disease humans can catch. That's why they're keeping him here. But us five-" She gestured to herself, Daphne, Puck, Bella, who was emerging from Puck's pocket, and Red, "- have to stay in the chicken house until they figure out what's wrong and how to fix it."

Annie, shivering, walked past the two girls towards the door, giving them a sympathetic smile as she went. Marcus followed.

"Come on, let's go inside." Red suggested.

The others nodded, heading over to the corner of the yard where the Chicken House liked to rest, dodging the fat raindrops that fell a wide space apart. Once inside, Red and Sabrina headed over to the kitchen wall to make themselves some food, and the other three sat down on the living room half of the long main room.

A few minutes later, Briar walked in. "Oh, let me do that, girls." She said, seeing Sabrina and Red searching the cabinets.

The girls stepped back in obvious relief, letting Briar take over in the kitchen and joining the others on the comfortable chairs on the other end of the room.

"So how was Art when you saw him last?" Bella asked.

"He was starting to wake up, but he didn't look good." Sabrina said. "He was coughing fire again."

"I don't get it!" Bella complained. "What could do that to a fairy? I've never heard of anything like it!"

"Me neither." Puck said. "And you'd think I would have."

"Nurse Spratt got Uncle Jake and Morgan Le Faye to help her check it out." Sabrina said. "They're trying to figure out what it is."

"Do they have any ideas?" Red asked.

Sabrina shook her head. "I just hope they're right and humans can't catch it."

"How could they?" Puck pointed out. "They're not cut out to breathe fire!"

"You'd be surprised." Briar said. "It could have different manifestations for people with different body types. That's why they don't want _any_ Everafters going near him."

Daphne shook her head. "No human's going to catch it. I think most of us are, though. Like you," she nodded at Bella, "are definitely going to get it. "But Red, you might be OK."

"You saw it?" Sabrina asked, glancing at her sister.

Daphne nodded, her expression bleak.

"Well, enough about that." Briar said, trying to sound cheerful. "Come set the table, dinner will be ready soon."

They all got up to help, even Puck, and spent the next several minutes trying and failing to avoid bumping into each other while putting things on the too-small table.

"How are we all going to fit on this table?" Bella asked, looking doubtfully at the six place settings.

"We're going to bump elbows a lot." Daphne said, and this time she wasn't predicting the future.

They did. Even if they hadn't, dinner would have been stressed, because Briar tried very hard to keep the conversation happy, but Daphne, who normally would have been the biggest help, was almost silent, and very surly, The others, too, were worried and uncomfortable.

"If I could just _see_ him, I'd know whether he'd get better or not!" Daphne exploded three-quarters of the way through the meal.

"Well, you can't." Sabrina said, taking a bowl from Bella. "We don't want you getting sick."

"I can't stand it!" Daphne snapped. "I wish I could just-"

"Stop it." Sabrina said, using a tone Puck had never heard her use before. "Stop it, Daphne! There's nothing either of us can do, and going in there is just going to get you sick, and-" She stopped, swallowing. "Art looked worse after we got him home." She whispered. "It was... oh, Daphne, it was awful. I don't think I could stand it if that happened to you."

Daphne stared at Sabrina, wide-eyed, and nodded. "Okay." She whispered, nodding. "I won't."

"Thank you." Sabrina croaked.

"Well, I think it's time for bed." Briar said, standing and beginning to grab plates. "Red, show Daphne where the things she can borrow are?"

"Okay." Red nodded. She stood, pushing her chair in. "Come on, Daphne, let's go."

"What about us?" Bella asked.

"Jake said he'd try to bring some stuff out to you later." Briar said. "If he can't, you can borrow our things. They'll be a bit big for you, but you should be able to manage." She looked at Sabrina. "Was he really that bad?"

Sabrina nodded. "He... I never thought I'd see him look _small_."

Puck shuddered.

The door slammed open and Uncle Jake walked in, soaking wet, with a bag half under his coat, his eyes looking haunted. He threw the bag at the kids, saying, "Pajamas and toothbrushes."

"What's wrong?" Briar asked, walking towards her husband.

"Don't." Jake said, holding a hand up.

Briar stopped. "What's wrong?"

Jake took a deep breath and said, "Hamstead and Bess both have it."


	97. Epidemic

**AN~ This chapter references back to chapters 77 through 82. If you don't remember what happened in the Puck betrayal plot arc, go back and skim. Also, I'm trying out a new format that I'm not sure I like with short snippets, so tell me what you think.**

**If I forgot to answer your review, I'm sorry I missed it. FF forgot to send me the emails, apparently.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: LittleMissRockerChick with the ability to make cheese out of thin air. They were all pretty creative, but that one just won me over. I'm thinking of stealing all those and making a league of 'super' heroes called the exes.**

New Question of the Day: You have a lampshade, a mail truck, and a penguin. What do you do with them? Be creative.

**_Jenna: _Thanks! The sickness is the next plot arc, and Sabrina listening in on Puck idea: She's mad at him all the time in the books, too, and I think sometimes he kind of deserves it 'cause he's a bit of a jerk and kind of thickheaded, you know? Also, you're review number 1400. Would you like a prize? Has to be free, in character, and internet transferable.**

**_civicprincess322994294:_ The sheep idea is pretty awesome. However, you didn't respond to the story at all, which makes you ineligible for the competition.**

**_tasleem:_ Thanks for the review! I think I've mentioned that the Puckabrina picks up in two or three more plot arcs.**

**_ISI 8D:_ Thanks for the review! That would be an ANNOYING superpower. Your clothes would always look nice, though! I know several people who share your opinions on Aquaman.**

**_silverwombat:_ Thanks for the review! :D :D**

**_Kathie:_ Thanks! :D That line was me playing around with syntax. I know it looked weird, but I did it on purpose. QotD: That is pretty lame. It would only be useful if you could make them rainbow and swirly and then you could hypnotize people.  
**

**_Not soLittle Girl:_ It would be weird, but useful. I'm sorry, you won't win this time, because I've decided you have to respond to the chapter in some way to be eligible for the QotD.**

**_QN:_ I don't THINK you've said 'le gasp', though it is a cool phrase. Glad I surprised you with mah plot twists. That WOULD be kind of lame. Like... toxic farts. What would you like because you won last chapter, by the by?**

* * *

The disease spread like wildfire after that. Within the first week, half the Emerald Foot was down. They stopped quarantining the sick people and started quarantining the ones who were well, meaning that the Grimm's house suddenly became a lot more crowded. However, none of the Scarlet Hand got it.

"They must have started it." Veronica said.

"Well, obviously they started it!" Jake snapped. "None of them are sick, they've got two mad scientists in their midst, and it's a disease that targets Everafters!"

"All right, don't get snippy with me." Veronica rolled her eyes. "I know you're stressed, but don't take it out on us."

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

* * *

Jake, Nurse Sprat, and Morgan Le Faye had been trying to find a cure, or at least the cause, for the entire time, but so far, they hadn't had much luck. When Snow got sick, though, Charming demanded what information they had as soon as they could give it to him, if not sooner.

When the three were in front of him, all heavy-eyed and sagging, He said, "Well?"

"We don't know much." Nurse Sprat said, rubbing her temples.

"That's not good enough!" Charming snapped. "I need-" His voice cracked. "I need a cure."

"We don't know if we can find one yet." Jake said, putting his head in his hands. "We know the Scarlet Hand has one, but short of storming them in search of it, we don't know how to get it."

"Well, what _do_ you know, then?" Charming asked.

"It gets in your magic." Morgan said. "So it affects everyone differently, though everyone has the same cough and general weakness. And the more magic you have, the stronger it hits you. People like Art get sick bad and fast. And people like Sprat, who are pretty much just immortal, will get sick more slowly."

"What do you mean, gets into our magic?" Charming asked.

"It finds your powers, your abilities, and it twists them." Morgan said, her voice bleak. "It makes you explode with your powers sometimes and seem like they're gone the next second, and it turns them into something different and wrong. And once it's done with that... It destroys them."

"What do you mean?" Charming's eyes were wide, and he was sitting up straight as a pine tree.

"Hamstead is speaking French at the moment, and Bess can't speak at all." Nurse Sprat said. "And Arthenius appears to be aging against his will."

Charming sighed, and he looked small, frightened. "Just... do the best you can." He said. "Save her."

The three decided that it was a better idea to leave without saying anything than to make a promise they couldn't keep.

* * *

Sabrina caught it on the eighth day, right after Snow.

She was scared, of course, and not enjoying herself, but she thought she was coping pretty well, all things considered.

"The worst part," She confided to Thumbelina, when she came to visit, "Is that I can't do anything. I can't fight this, and I hate just having to sit here."

Thumbelina made a very uncomfortable face, running her tiny hand through her hair. "I can." She said. "Do something, I mean."

"Why haven't you, then?" Sabrina asked, bursting into a fit of coughs.

Thumbelina sighed. "I could heal you. And maybe a few other people. But then I wouldn't be able to help _anyone_ else. This way I can do a bit for everyone. I wish I could fix everyone, but... it wouldn't work."

"Ooooh." Sabrina hissed sympathetically, coughing. "That must be almost as bad as not being able to do anything."

"It does." Thumbelina said. "I can help you a bit, though."

She laid a minuscule hand on Sabrina's and a cool blue light spread from her fingers through Sabrina's arm.

Sabrina's cough subsided. "Thanks." She croaked.

"No problem." Thumbelina smiled. "I wish I could do more."

* * *

Puck joined Sabrina the next day. He looked worse than she did.

"You've been hiding it." She accused. "You've been sick longer than me."

"Possibly..." Puck muttered.

Sabrina coughed. "Not- a good plan- buddy."

Puck shrugged. "What-" He coughed, "can they do for me here, anyway?"

"Good point." Sabrina agreed, then coughed again. "Not like they have a cure, anyway."

Puck nodded, too busy coughing to respond.

* * *

When Veronica left the hospital tent, she tried very hard to concentrate on how it managed to seem white and sterile with a dirt floor. It didn't work.

"Ronnie?" Henry asked, peering at her downturned face.

Veronica sniffed, trying to compose herself.

"Ronnie, are you all right?" Henry asked, turning her face up to him.

Veronica lost it. She threw her arms around her husband and sobbed, "Oh, Henry, my babies!"

"I know, Ronnie, I know." Henry said, and his voice was angry.

"I was all right when it was just Sabrina, but now that it's all three of them..." Veronica trailed off. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost them all."

"We have to fix it." Henry said firmly.

"That means going to the Scarlet Hand and getting their cure." Veronica said slowly.

"For our kids, I'm willing." Henry told her.

"We have to wait until a good time, though." Veronica said. Now that she knew there was something she could do, she was almost composed again. "When they're all- or mostly- gone."

Henry nodded. "I can wait." A few coughs made their way through the wall of the tent, and he said, "Not too long, though."

* * *

Art got better first, but not all better. His voice was much scratchier than it had been before, thanks to the burns in his throat, and his abdomen was very uneven: the muscles on the right side had bulged out from their normal large defined position to something huge, hulking, and abnormal, and his left side was shriveled. He could still walk and act normal, and was working on building the muscles back to normal, but he stood unevenly, and it was hard for him to breathe.

"I'm just glad it wasn't my whole body." He told Daphne, who nodded without saying anything, too busy coughing. "And that I didn't... you know, die or something."

Daphne smiled at him, and while he watched, her face grew feathers.

* * *

The first death was Mother Gothel, Rapunzel's captor/mother. A fairy in the bed next to her coughed, and even though the flame went nowhere near her, she burst into flame. It was brilliant to see, even as it was horrible. Puck would have enjoyed it if he hadn't been too busy being an infant. Sabrina, who was relatively normal at the time, was horrified.

* * *

The worst people to watch were Hamstead and Bess. They'd been losing their magic slowly and steadily, and now they were barnyard animals without the capabilities of speech. They still made it evident that they loved each other, though, through touches and looks.

The day Bess didn't respond to Hamstead's call was the day he gave up. He couldn't talk, but everyone who was still well knew that if he could, he'd say it wasn't worth it to stay human inside without Bess.

* * *

Strangely, Charming and Mr. Clay didn't get sick. Neither did Little John, Cinderella, Morgan Le Faye, Red, or Nurse Sprat. A few others stayed well, too, no matter how much they came in contact with the diseased. The 'team', as people had begun calling Jake, Morgan, and Sprat, were running tests to see if they could find a cure in these people's bodies.

So far, they hadn't come up with anything.

* * *

Three weeks into the epidemic, the Scarlet Hand began attacking. That was when there weren't enough well people left to fight.

"Now is when we have to go." Veronica told Henry as Charming led the few who weren't sick out to do battle. "They won't be expecting it."

"You need me." Sabrina said.

Both parents spun around, staring at their daughter, who was suddenly standing behind them, perfectly healthy.

"Sabrina?" Henry asked, carefully keeping his voice flat.

"Don't look at me like that." She said. "I'm from a week from now. I came back to help."

"Oh." Veronica said, her voice trembling. "But... why did you come?"

"You need me." Sabrina said simply. "And don't bother arguing. I've already done it. I remember."

The two adults looked at each other, then back at her. "And do you remember getting hurt?" Veronica asked slowly.

Sabrina shook her head. "I get out just fine. So do you both."

"I think we should let her." Veronica told Henry. "It might be the best thing to do."

Henry sighed but nodded. "Fine." He muttered.

"Great." Sabrina said. "Go get your stuff together, there's some stuff I need to do.

* * *

Sabrina's newest symptom was that she spent more time looking at the past than the present, and that she would see both of them at the same time, which was very confusing. When she finally managed to get out of the latest of someone else's memories, she wasn't sure she had, because standing in front of her was... herself.

"Are you actually here?" She asked, sitting up.

"Yes." The other her said, looking straight at her.

"So I survive, then." She said, deducing that this her must be from the future.

The other her didn't bother to respond, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's the catch?" She asked. There had been a cost for everyone who survived. Art's disformity, Beauty's wrinkled, ancient-looking hand, and Peaseblossom's burned lips were just a few examples. None of those who lived were unscathed.

"The past." The other Sabrina said. "It never really goes away. I can always see it, like a shadow over everything... All different pasts..."

"But I deal with it?" Sabrina asked.

The other Sabrina cocked her head to the side, then nodded slowly, once up and once down. "It's hard. But it's going to get better."

Sabrina nodded, too, then started coughing. "Why are you here?" She asked, once she could breathe again. "You can't have come back just to talk to me."

"Our parents need me to help find the cure." The other Sabrina said. "And talking to you means we'll be able to do it. To make sure we remember it happening, and working out right. So there's no kinks. Like parents."

Sabrina nodded. "Makes sense. Do you need anything? From now, I mean."

The other Sabrina shook her head, standing. "I'm good."

Sabrina was going to answer, but she coughed hard and suddenly found herself floating outside her body. "Dangit." She mind-muttered.

The other Sabrina looked up at her and said, "I have to go now. You'll be fine."

"Wait!" Sabrina called. "Who else-"

But the other Sabrina was gone before she could say 'dies'.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Veronica asked.

They were walking through the woods, Sabrina wearing a borrowed sword (she still didn't have hers back), jeans, and sneakers, Veronica and Henry both heavily decked out with weaponry. This would no doubt be useful when they got there, but at the moment it was making it difficult to walk through the dense, budding spring woods.

"Mab's castle." Sabrina said, stalking ahead of them and slashing at branches. "It's kind of where they keep everything."

"Good point." Henry said. He was finding it hard to think of this calm, confident, completely in-charge girl as his Sabrina, who let him do whatever he wanted. He was calling her 'the other Sabrina' in his head, because she was acting so out of character for what he knew of her.

They walked in silence for a while, until Henry asked, "Do you know the way to get there?"

"Of course I... maybe I need to go do a fly-by and check." Sabrina corrected herself, and _now_ she seemed like his daughter again.

He chuckled as she flapped up above the tree line, wrapping an arm around Veronica as they waited. Their swords clanged against each other.

Sabrina returned a few moments later, a smug look on her face. "I did _so_ know where we were going."

Veronica snorted and said, "Let's get going, then. We're wasting daylight."

They walked through the woods for a good hour- or so it seemed. The light didn't seem to change. After a time, Henry got suspicious. "What are you doing?" He asked Sabrina.

"Nothing." Sabrina said, but she wasn't looking at him when she said it. "We're here." She wiped a thin sheen of sweat off her forehead.

They were. Henry and Veronica stepped out of the woods to see the huge white monstrosity that was Mab's castle and tried to conceal their awe. It was magnificent, even it was overdone: columns and towers and frescoes and very few windows and a huge roof covered in gold leaf, set in the center of a green lawn.

"So... that getting in part." Sabrina said, inching for the back door while her parents stared.

Her parents nodded, and they darted across the vast open lawn to the nearest door. Henry expected arrows or fireballs to come raining down on them from the high, narrow windows, but none did.

Veronica pushed the door open and paused, listening.

The building was silent.

"They're all gone." Sabrina said. "They're chasing after us. They think that 'cause we're all sick it's a good time to kill us off."

"They why did we bring all these weapons?" Henry complained loudly.

"Just in case?" Sabrina shrugged. "I didn't tell you to get them."

"Guys." Veronica said. "Focus."

The two snapped their mouths shut and Sabrina walked in front of her parents.

"Do you know where you're going this time?" Henry asked.

Veronica didn't say anything, staring at the painting on the walls.

"Yeah." Sabrina said, and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Puck gave me a map."

She led the way forward confidently, and the three walked through the house, Sabrina looking as if she owned it, and Henry and Veronica staring, awed. When they reached the X on the map, Sabrina stopped, looking at the door distastefully.

"We're here." She said, shuddering.

"What's wrong?" Veronica asked, looking from Sabrina to the door- no different than the others- and back again.

"Nothing." Sabrina shook her head and pushed the door open.

The patterned cream of a room she would never forget met her gaze, and she watched for a few seconds as shadows of herself and the people who had tested her flickered through the space. It was these shadows that kept her from noticing Doctor Jekyll's presence until it was almost too late.

It was Henry that saved her. His sword jumped between the dagger coming for Sabrina's throat just in time. Doctor Jekyll cursed and turned to the new threat, his dagger, dripping with something sickly green, flashing quicker than Sabrina would have thought possible, but Henry, dropping his sword, grabbed a knife of his own and fought back. If she'd had time, Sabrina would have stared at her dad. She'd had no idea he could fight that well.

"What are we looking for?" Veronica whispered in Sabrina's ear, pulling her away from the men.

Sabrina looked around for the bottles that had healed her three weeks ago in her time, three hours later in this timeline. "Something like that." She pointed at the ice blue bottle on the counter, half full of an even lighter blue substance that almost seemed to glow.

"So where will it be?" Veronica asked tensely.

"I don't know!" Sabrina snapped. "You didn't tell me! Or don't tell me. Whichever."

"Well, we'd better get searching, then." Veronica said grimly.

They did. Sabrina was the one who found them, in one of the cupboards underneath the bench she'd sat on so often. She and Veronica began piling the blue jars into the bag Veronica had brought for just that purpose, and Henry kept fighting Doctor Jekyll.

"Henry!" Veronica shouted once they had all the bags and were heading for the door.

He spun around and, seeing they were good, ran for them, slamming the door between them and Jekyll's shrieks of rage.


	98. Better

**AN~ Sorry it took so long. I have no excuses other than life.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: _PsycoBrunette_ for her plot to take over the world! Congratulations! Step up and claim your prize!**

New Question of the Day: You're having a tea party and can invite three to six guests (people you know, people you'd like to know, people that don't actually exist that should, etc.), and you can have (other than tea) two drinks, five things to eat on/with, and seven kinds of food. You can have less if you want. Tell me what your tea party will be like. What should the guests wear? Where will it be?

**_Other ():_ I'm updating.**

**_() who may possibly be named Velika Silvertongue: _**Ch. 83: **Thanks! But that's a bad idea. Sleep is good. **Ch. 88:**Because emotion is what keeps people reading, I guess. **Ch. 100:**I doubt the mail truck can go underwater, unless it's a mail truck from Atlantis.**

**_Purpleflower23: _How can I make you not confused?**

**_QN:_ I share no spoilers about deaths unless someone wins and asks for them. And as you just asked for Daphne to say something random, you lost your chance, sorry. :) QotD: Whoa whoa whoa, where did you get Chipmunks? I'm OK with jail, but you were not allotted any chipmunks! :) J/K. It was funny.**

**_Agd:_ Lol 'bout QotD. It's the real Sabrina. She can time travel (Janus arc).**

**_ChiefPotato:_ That's amusing. But you didn't actually respond to the chapter, so you're ineligible to win, sorry.**

**_ISI 8D:_ :D I'd totally give you an update just to get to come to the penguin party. 'Cause that would be totally awesome.**

* * *

After that, things went pretty simply. Sabrina wasn't there to see it, though. She went back to her time, leaving Henry and Veronica to clean up the mess.

"Bit rude of her, don't you think?" Veronica said conversationally, administering a bit of blue potion to Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus.

Henry nodded. "I thought we'd raised her better than that. Jumping out and leaving us with all the dirty work."

Veronica smiled at Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus as she sat up, looking instantly better. "Hey." She said. "Listen, the Scarlet Hand's attacking, and since you're feeling better, want to go give Charming a hand?"

The old woman, looking very bewildered, nodded and heaved herself out of bed, heading for the door. Veronica decided not to point out that she was wearing footie pajamas.

"We can't be too hard on her, though." Veronica pointed out. "I mean, she's gone, and all. And it wouldn't be fair to punish her for something she hasn't done yet."

"Oh, but when we get then..." Henry said vehemently, shoving a spoon of blue liquid into Bella's mouth.

Bella sat up, blinking. "What's going on?" She asked, scratching her arms.

"We've got the cure." Henry responded, shoving a bottle and a spoon into her hands. "Go down to the other end of the tent and work your way back here, would you? The Scarlet Hand's attacking, and we need all the help we can get."

Bella shrugged and walked off, still scratching her free arm.

They worked their way towards the center of their room, Veronica and Henry going faster than Bella, who had to give both sides of the long tent the cure, and was still a little stiff from her long time in bed. Everyone who had something to contribute to the battle was sent outside, and the others joined the wakeup group.

By the time everyone was awake, the battle was over.

"They weren't expecting us to put up as much resistance as we did." Mr. Clay said. "They were unprepared, so we defeated them."

The Grimms and the leaders of the Emerald Foot were gathered in Charming's office to discuss plans for the future. Charming hadn't said anything yet, he was too busy staring at Snow, holding her hand as if it was the only thing that was keeping him from floating off into the sky.

Sabrina was watching the room, and the shadows of what had happened there before. She wondered if she'd ever see full visions again, or have a time when she didn't see ghosts flitting around. It was distracting, almost to the point that she couldn't concentrate on the conversation.

"How is everyone?" Snow asked. She wasn't quite as focused as Charming, but she wasn't complaining about his hold on her hand.

"They're recovering." Jake said. "But so far, everyone we've talked to has had something that isn't back to normal. On the other hand, Bess and Hamstead are back, almost completely. And they were the worst. I didn't think they'd make it."

"Do you have anything?" Daphne asked, looking at Snow, and fingering the feathers that were mixed in with her pigtails.

Snow pulled her hand out of Charming's and held it up to the light, so Daphne could see its wrinkles clearly. The rest of her looked as young and beautiful as ever, but her right hand was that of an old, old woman.

Sabrina hissed, because she could see the shadow of what the hand used to be, and saw the huge difference. But then she realized that Charming- Charming, who was the handomest man in town, possibly in the whole word, Charming, who was shallow and stuck up- had been holding Snow's ancient hand for several hours now, without the slightest sign that he cared.

"I wonder how they came up with the disease." Henry mused, changing the subject from Snow's hand.

"Morgan and I have been discussing that." Jake said. "We think they must have been trying to make themselves stronger. A super-soldier project, if you will. And it went wrong, so they gave it to us as a disease."

"Like those movies." Veronica said. "Where they try to cure cancer with the measles or something and it turns everyone who takes it into zombies.

"Pretty much." Jake agreed. "Except they had a cure, too." He held up one of the blue bottles.

"What was in that, do you know?" Robin Hood asked.

"Morgan and Nurse Sprat are running tests on it right now." Jake said.

Briar, hearing Morgan Le Fay's name again, made a face and wrapped her arms around Jake. He put his arm back around her, running his hands over her hair and the gray streak that was her price for the sickness.

"That was too easy." Mr. Clay said. "One guard over that many bottles of cure? They had to know we'd come for it. There must be a catch."

"That's why we're testing it." Jake said. "To make sure there isn't something worse underneath."

"So there's a possibility we've been fed poison." Briar muttered.

"We don't die for three weeks." Sabrina said cheerfully. "If that makes you feel any better. Or at least I don't."

Daphne raised her eyebrows at her sister. "Well, you're oddly happy."

Sabrina shrugged. "I'm better. It's nice."

"Yeah, so are the rest of us, but we're not bouncing." Puck muttered, his voice raspy. He ran his hands over his lips, which were now striped with ropy scar tissue.

"I dunno, I think it's pretty cool what Daphne came out with." Veronica grinned. "Hair feathers."

She ruffled Daphne's hair, and the ten year old ducked, making a face. "Mo-om!" She complained.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Stop doing that with my hair!" Daphne pouted. "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Nope." Puck grinned. "But you have hairfeathers." He began playing with her hair, too, pulling a feather free and running his fingers wrong way down it, pulling the feather's individual pieces apart.

"Stop it!" Daphne snapped, jerking away from him. "That feels funny!"

"Sorry." Puck shrugged. But he was smiling so much it was obvious he didn't mean it.

"Anyway." Snow said pointedly. "Back on task, please?"

"What's the task, exactly?" Sabrina asked.

"Planning our next move." Mr. Clay rumbled.

"Oh." Sabrina said. "Will you guys listen to anything I say?"

"Probably not." Uncle Jake grinned at her, wrapping his arms tighter around Briar.

"Mm." Sabrina made a face. "And will I find this out later?"

"Most likely." Granny said. "We don't intentionally shut you out, _liebling_."

"Right." Sabrina said. "And will anything crucially important to my immediate future get talked about?"

"Not crucially." Henry said. "But maybe a bit."

Sabrina shrugged. "I'm going to go for a fly, then, all right? It's too nice a day to be inside, especially after being sick so long."

"Go right ahead." Veronica gestured to the door. "Have fun. But don't go too far! Be safe!" She shouted the last bit, because Sabrina was already gone, taking most of the rest of the kids with her.

Outside, they went their separate ways, but Sabrina just stopped, basking in the bright sunshine, eyes closed in her upturned face, where a small smile grew.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" A rough voice that Sabrina recognized but didn't said from next to her.

She opened her eyes reluctantly and was met with the shadows of the past again, but she also saw Puck, looking up at the sun, too. It was his voice she'd heard.

She smiled a little. "Yeah. I didn't realize how much I'd missed outside."

"I thought I did." Puck said, and the roughness of his voice made her flinch.

She reached a tentative hand up to his mouth, running it over the scars, slowly, as if he was a wild animal, and might bolt. "Does it hurt?" She asked.

Puck froze when she touched him, eyes widening. It wasn't until she put her hand back down that he said, "Some. Not as much as when I was still sick."

"I wonder if it'll ever get better." Sabrina said quietly, rubbing her hands together. Her fingers tingled a bit from where she'd touched Puck.

Puck shrugged and said, "I can deal. It's not like I lost an arm or anything. I just sound like I have a cold."

Sabrina decided to lighten the mood. Things were getting too serious. "Well, I think this is an improvement." She grinned at him.

"Yeah, now you don't have to worry about my siren-song voice." Puck teased, popping his wings out. "Now come on! We'd better go on that fly if we want to be back in time for dinner!"

Sabrina unfurled her own wings and followed him into the sky, grinning. She did a few loop-the-loops in the great summery expanse, her eyes shut.

Then she stopped, and stared at Puck, ignoring the shadows. "Wait... Siren-song?"

Puck didn't say anything, but he grinned at her.

"That was a joke, right?" Sabrina asked.

"You'll never know, will you?" Puck grinned at her.

Sabrina glared at him, trying her hardest to focus on _him_, not the shadows of him before, and a bird that had flown there a week ago.

Puck was looking back at her, and the longer her looked, the more concerned his face got.

"What's up, Grimm?" He asked. "You look... weird."

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Puck peered at her closely. "What's your leftover symptom? From being sick?"

"Don't worry about it." Sabrina said, closing her eyes. "It's not important, and I'll learn to deal with it."

Puck gave her a Look.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, but said, "Well, you know how I can see the past, right?"

"Right." Puck said, his voice flat. _No duh_ was the subtext.

"Well, when I was sick, I started seeing it all the time, not in full-out visions like I used to, but like a shadow over everything." Sabrina explained. "And I'm still doing it. It's confusing, 'cause there's about fifteen things happening at once no matter where I go or what I look at."

Puck blinked. Then blinked again. "Shouldn't that give you a headache?" He asked.

Sabrina made a face, because she hadn't noticed the dull ache that was settling into her temples until Puck brought it up. "Thanks for that." She muttered. "Yeah, actually. It does, now you mention it."

"Maybe you should go talk to someone." Puck suggested. "See if there's a way you can fix it."

"Oh, like you're doing?" Sabrina asked. "I'll deal with it. They're busy right now, and there are other people who came out of it worse than I did. I'll just see if I can learn to ignore them."

"Suit yourself." Puck said. "But don't come running to me to complain when you can't put up with it anymore."

"Your confidence in my stamina astounds me." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Well, you bug me to help you all the time anyway!" Puck snorted. "Why should now be any different?"

"I'm a lot more self-sufficient than you think I am." Sabrina retorted.

"Sure." Puck said. "Which is why you always need me to rescue you."

"When was the last time I needed your help?" Sabrina snapped.

"Umm... let's see... that pickle jar, right before Art got sick." Puck said sarcastically.

"I meant for something big!" Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Who got us out of Mab's dungeon?" Puck pointed out.

"That was _months_ ago!" Sabrina snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She hadn't noticed it, but as she'd argued with Puck, she'd been flying higher, and her wings were creating quite a breeze. "And before that I didn't need your help for anything for ages!"

"I saved your butt tons of times in the Book of Everafter!"

"What about the time when it was the four girls against the Five Chinese brothers? You weren't even there, and we handled ourselves fine!"

"If that's the only time you've done stuff on your own, you're screwed, Grimm, and I just won the argument." Puck stopped yelling and smirked at her.

Sabrina fumed at him for a few seconds and said, "You want me to prove I can take care of myself? Fine, I will!" She flew back down towards the ground, zooming into a dive.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Grimm, I didn't mean you should run off and get yourself in trouble!" Puck shouted, flying after her.

If Sabrina hadn't been so angry, she'd have snorted. She wasn't _that_ stupid. Instead, she shouted, loud enough that she could be heard by the camp, "Puck, I challenge you to a duel!"

Puck stopped short, backtracking. "Whoa, what?" He asked, staring at Sabrina.

"I'm proving I'm just as capable as you." Sabrina said. "You versus me, one on one, you pick the time."

"All right then." Puck said. "Tonight at seven."

"It's on, fairy boy." Sabrina said, smiling fiercely.

"I hope you liked the medical tent, 'cause you'll be spending a lot more time there once I'm done with you!" Puck shot back.

Sabrina snorted. "You wish." But she wasn't as angry anymore, and she was losing some of her bravado. She glanced down at the crowd below and blushed. There were a _lot_ of people down there, staring at them. That was embarassing. And that had been a pretty stupid comeback.

She flew back to the ground, touching down as gracefully as she could. There weren't actually as many people as she'd thought, a lot were shadows of people who had been there some time before.

Rubbing her head, she walked back inside Charming's office, where the adults were still talking. Uncle Jake had left, but otherwise, not much had changed.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Veronica asked, interrupting Charming in the middle of what looked like a rant.

"Not much, just dueling with Puck tonight, any pointers?" Sabrina said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Also, can we go home? Please?"

"Back up a second." Henry said, his voice tense. "What do you mean, a duel?"

"I mean that Puck keeps treating me like I can't do anything and I'm sick of it, so I'm proving I'm capable." Sabrina said. "Relax, I can bet you twenty bucks he won't go all out on me."

"Sabrina, do you think this is a good idea so soon?" Granny asked, her eyebrows tilting up in worry. "You just got better."

"I'm fine." Sabrina assured her. "I just want to go home and get ready first, OK?"

"All right..." Granny said, her tone suggesting that she thought this was a very bad idea, but that Sabrina was old enough to make her own stupid mistakes.

"I'll take her home." Veronica offered. "Basil should sleep in his own bed, anyway." She glanced over at her son, who was sleeping on the floor.

Henry looked at her, and after a few seconds, Veronica nodded. Sabrina got the distinct impression that Veronica was supposed to talk her out of this. She set her jaw. Nothing doing.

Sure enough, as soon as they were back at the house and Basil was in bed, Veronica confronted Sabrina and said, "This is a bad idea."

"Mom, I have to do this." Sabrina said, resolute.

"Why?" Veronica asked, exasperated.

"Because you all don't want me to, and I have to prove I can!" Sabrina half shouted. "I'm sick and tired of being treated like I can't do anything." She took a deep breath. "Besides, we both know I'll be fine in three weeks. Anything that only takes three weeks to heal can't be that bad."

Veronica shook her head at her and sighed. "Fine." She said. "Go ahead. But be careful."

"Thanks." Sabrina smiled, focusing on the version of her mother that was in front of her then, not the shadows from before. She realized then, that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. "Uh... mom?"

"What's up?" Veronica asked.

"What exactly do I _do _in a duel?" Sabrina asked, blushing a bit.

Veronica laughed. "_Just_ like your father." She said. "Jumping into things without thinking about them because of your feelings."

"Yeah, great." Sabrina said. "But what do I _do_?"

"Wing it." Veronica said. "You're good at that."

"Seriously?" Sabrina gave her mother a look. "I'm looking for advice, here."

"And I gave you it." Veronica responded. "I've never been in a duel, sweetie. Just... go there, and don't let Puck beat you up too bad."

"All right..." Sabrina said hesitantly.

"You'll do great." Veronica assured her. "I believe in you."


	99. Of Duels and Baseball Bats

**AN~ A day early for y'all, to make up for last time... Yeah. Sorry 'bout that... Did you know that every time I do that it's an improper use of an ellipsis (which means this: ...)? It's only supposed to be used for deleting things. I learned that yesterday, but I don't care. At all.  
**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: ANannyMouse again, for the sheer DETAIL she put in. You all did great, and if she can't think of a prize, then I may give it to someone else, because it's not quite fair for one person to win twice in a row.**

New Question of the Day: What would you do even if you'd end up in jail for it? What would be worth it?

**_nana jojo:_ Thanks for the review!  
**

**_silverwombat:_ Yeah, but a duel usually implies death. Like guns at thirty paces, or sword on sword. It's dangerous.**

**_Penguin Lover Girl:_ That's fine. :) I love reading the QotD answers 'cause you guys are really funny, but that one was kind of intensive. So how do you want Puck to die? 'Cause I'm not sure how to figuratively kill someone. If you mean beat his pants off, we'll see.**

**_Kathie:_ That was NOT the meanest point to end a chapter with. I've had far meaner. (references back to every cliffhanger ever) I had fun with the scars. Is that a bad thing? They were kind of hard to think up, though, 'cause I wanted ones that weren't TOO bad, but would be hard to live with anyway.**

**_Velika Silvertongue:_ Yeah, Veronica would make a great mom IRL. OMG no fair! You can't have Dr. Seuss do your answers! Not until I meet him!**

**_QN:_ I actually didn't DO your request yet... I think that'll have to be next chapter. And I like it, 'cause it won't take two chapters to fulfill. Which is good, 'cause this is already huge. I'm really happy about everything you liked but don't want to take up too much space to tell you, so have a smiley face: :D. I would love to come to that tea party, just 'cause beach and chipmunks.**

* * *

Sabrina took a deep breath and turned to face Puck, deciding that she was as ready as she'd ever be for this duel. They were in the Grimm's front yard, and they had quite a crowd.

"Begin your attacks at my signal!" Snow called. "Three..."

Sabrina breathed in again, deep and calming. It didn't work, she was still nervous as anything.

"Two."

Sabrina tensed, watching Puck for a sign of what he'd do next. Attack? Run? Spit fire at her? Turn into a rhinocerous?

"One..."

Puck was shifting his weight onto one leg. Was that a sign? Or was he faking her out?

"Go!" Snow shouted.

Too late to plan, time for action!

Puck was charging her, a huge, hairy bull now, with steam coming out of his nostrils and everything. He'd spun so fast Sabrina hadn't even seen it.

She jumped up, wings unfurling as she did, and didn't land. She watched as Puck, who had run into Granny's ancient, twisted apple tree, shook his bull-head and ran in a circle, searching for her. She was safe until he figured out where she'd gone, but that wouldn't take long. She needed a plan of attack.

First off, though, she needed to be safe. She formed a barrier around herself, leaving about a foot between it and her wings in all directions.

Puck looked up, and before she knew it, he was himself again, and flying up towards her.

Sabrina grinned at him and sped back toward the ground, stopping short just before running into the grass. Puck turned to follow her, and Sabrina began to mess with gravity.

Puck suddenly found himself having to fight a lot harder to fly down, as if he was fighting through a thick goop. Then Sabrina pulled him towards the tree he'd run into before, dragging him back to it with all her strength.

"Not... fair!" Puck complained, fighting against the pull of gravity, his wings beating so fast they were creating a breeze.

"All's fair in love and war." Sabrina smiled sweetly. "I can do this all day, you know."

"Well, which is this?" Puck sneered.

"War, obviously." Sabrina blinked. "You _wish_ it was love."

From the porch, where a lot of people had gathered to watch, Daphne's voice came, saying, "Hey, I can bend my thumb around backwards!"

That distracted Sabrina enough that she let Puck loose for just a second too long as she stared at her sister, wondering what that had to do with _anything_.

Puck took advantage of Sabrina's distraction to belch a giant fireball in her direction, and she ducked out of the way just in time, wishing she could have made her barrier impenetrable to everything without passing out from oxygen deprivation. She smelled burning hair.

"Puck, I swear, if you-" Sabrina started, feeling her head for anything singed. Thankfully, all she could find was a bit of curling at the ends, and she focused back on her opponent.

"See, that's why you'll lose!" Puck shouted. "You care too much about how you look! You can't fix your hair in the middle of a fight!"

"I don't need to!" Sabrina snapped, concentrating on gravity in his area and pinning him to the ground as she flew to the tree, searching for a loose stick. "But this _isn't_ a fight, it's me proving I can take perfectly good care of myself!" She found a large dead branch, turned her concentration to its gravity, increasing it until the wood snapped off and fell into her waiting hands. Puck had taken that opportunity to move closer to her, but that was what she'd wanted, and-

No, he hadn't been moving closer. He'd been spinning, and he'd turned into an insect. Sabrina muttered a curse under her breath. She couldn't even see him, and he'd done exactly the right thing to keep her gravity power from working. The lighter he was, the less she could do.

She could keep him from getting close to her, though. She hardened her shield against anything breathing and sat down to wait. He'd have to turn back eventually, otherwise this would be a stalemate.

It was a good fifteen minutes before Puck morphed back, complaining, "Come on, Grimm, that's no fun!"

As soon as he did, Sabrina snapped a heavy amount of gravity back on him, and whacked him with her stick.

"Ow!" Puck complained.

"Do I win yet?" Sabrina asked.

"What?" Puck gave her an incredulous look, despite the fact that he was slowly sinking to the ground. "Of course not! I'm still perfectly capable!"

"Do I have to knock you out, then?" Sabrina asked. "Is that what it's going to take? 'Cause I don't want to, but I definitely can." She whacked her stick against her palm a few times for emphasis.

Puck stuck his tongue out at her, now halfway to the grass. "You wouldn't."

"All right, that's it!" Sabrina snapped, and, winding up, she swung her branch like a baseball bat, hitting Puck square in the head.

* * *

When Puck woke up, he was _not_ happy, but he grudgingly admitted that _maybe_ Sabrina could do some stuff. _Maybe_. But of course he'd gone easy on her. Sabrina had laughed. Of course.

They went back to school for the last three weeks of the year, everything picking up as if they _hadn't_ been gone for a week and a half. Sabrina couldn't believe how easy it seemed, and how much she didn't stress about her finals, which she mostly passed with good grades. Then, finally in possession of enough free time, she went back in time and returned to find herself grounded for a week.

"What for?" She complained, looking at her parents. "I just saved us all!"

"And left your mother and me to clean up the mess." Henry pointed out. "We remember that quite clearly, Sabrina. So you're not to leave the yard until next Thursday."

"Aww, come on!" Sabrina complained.

"No." Veronica said firmly. "Your father and I have had three weeks to talk about this, Sabrina, and we're sure."

"Fine." Sabrina muttered.

"Don't feel too bad, sweetie, it's not like you'll be cleaning the whole time." Veronica said, giving her daughter a one-armed hug. "We can play baseball in the yard, it's supposed to be a nice week."

"Yeah, if there's anyone else around to play_ with_." Sabrina said rebelliously.

"There probably will be." Henry said. "They can't be gone _all _the time."

"Besides, that'll give us time to catch up." Veronica pointed out. "I bet you're rusty. When was the last time you actually touched a baseball?"

"Umm... we played baseball in gym the first year." Sabrina offered.

"Not good enough!" Veronica said, letting go of Sabrina and walking for the hall.

"What?" Sabrina called. "What do you mean, not good enough?"

"That was almost two years ago." Veronica called from the other room. "You and I have some work to do."

"Work like what?" Sabrina asked suspiciously, following her mother.

"We're getting you back in baseball shape this summer." Veronica said. She was in the basement, digging through Granny's organized side in search of something, throwing things in all directions. Sabrina was almost hit by a clock radio, narrowly dodging it, and caught a tennis racket three inches from her face.

"What are you doing?" Daphne called, sticking her head into the basement doorway.

Sabrina looked for a minute at the ten-year-old's shining dark hair. Daphne had stopped braiding it when the feathers made it plain they weren't going away, because feathers didn't braid easily, and it was too much work to pull them out of the way while braiding her hair, so it now hung down in waves past her shoulders, though Sabrina's was still longer. No one was used to it yet, and Sabrina was staring to try to prevent any more double-takes when she saw her sister out of the corner of her eye. It made her look older.

"Mom's looking for baseball stuff." Sabrina said. "And destroying all Granny's hard work while she's at it."

"I know it's in this area-" Veronica threw a shoe towards Sabrina "-Somewhere, I just have to find it. I swore I saw it here the other day."

"Actually, it's over to your left about ten feet." Daphne said, pointing. "I can see it from here."

Veronica straightened, pushing her hair out of her face. "What?" She turned, trying to find where Daphne was pointing. "I don't see it."

"There." Sabrina said, pointing. "Want me to get it? You can clean this up."

Veronica looked around at the mess and laughed. "Oops. I guess I got a little... overexcited?"

"Maybe a bit." Sabrina said, wading through the sports equipment to the baseball stuff.

"Sorry." Veronica apologized, picking up a bag of tent pegs and putting it back. "It's just been so long since I actually played baseball..."

Sabrina grabbed the bag full of baseball stuff and, shouldering it, wove back out through the various other things, saying, "I had no idea we had so much sports stuff..."

"We had more." Veronica said. "Your grandma sent a ton of it over to the school."

"_Why_?" Daphne protested. "What did we need it all for?"

Veronica shrugged. "Ask her." She said. "How should I know?"

"All right, I will." Daphne said, turning on her heel and walking off, calling, "Granny!"

"She looks so much older with her hair down." Sabrina marveled.

"I know." Veronica agreed. "You were the same way, you know."

"I never braided my hair!" Sabrina protested.

"No, but you wore it in those cute little Powerpuff Girls pigtails until you were about six." Veronica reminded her. "They were so adorable."

"Yeah, but then someone told me I looked like Bubbles, so I quit." Sabrina said.

"I remember." Veronica sighed. "It was a sad day for me."

"Why?" Sabrina asked. "I looked stupid like that!"

"You looked so sweet, and it was sad because it was the first sign I had that you were growing up. And growing up to be absolutely obstinate and boyish. Remember when you wanted to chop all your hair off?"

Sabrina nodded, snorting ruefully. "_So_ glad you talked me out of that one."

"Me, too." Veronica agreed. "You'd look _wrong_ with short hair. Now, come on, let's get to baseball!"

Sabrina followed her mother up the stairs, jogging as the heavy bag bounced behind her. Once out on the front yard, she dumped the bag and watched as several balls went bouncing away and a few bats rolled sideways.

Veronica grabbed a rather worn-looking baseball that rolled against her feet and tossed it to herself a few times. "This one'll work. Grab a glove."

Sabrina complied, finding one that fit, and tossing her mom a matching glove- their hands were almost the same size. That was surprising. Maybe Daphne wasn't the only one growing up.

Mother and daughter played catch for about an hour, missing less and having less erratic throws the longer they played. Neither were bad to start with, but they were both rusty, and it took most of the afternoon to get them back in shape.

"You're missing dinner, you know." Puck called out to them in a croaking voice from the porch.

"Wait, what?" Sabrina snapped her head around, almost missing the ball heading for her face, catching it just in time.

"Well, maybe not _missing_," Puck conceded, "But you're about to be late." He grinned. "You should have seen your face."

"No, I mean it was my turn to cook!" Sabrina said. "How can we be almost late for dinner if I didn't make it yet?"

"Daphne took your turn." Puck said. "She said you owe her."

Daphne cooking was a very interesting thing to watch. She always made at least five very large dishes all at once, moving all over the place, and eating as she went. Because of this, and the fact that Elvis 'helped' her, there was barely more than the average amount of food when they sat down to eat, and several dishes would have small, finger-shaped holes in them. Sabrina liked to watch Daphne bustling around the kitchen when she had time. It was very entertaining. Too bad she'd missed it.

Veronica and Sabrina deposited their baseball things in the bag, which Veronica dumped on the porch, before hurrying inside and washing their hands to sit down to dinner. Sure enough, Daphne had made mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, rice, bacon, and cauliflower with white sauce. The cauliflower head was missing several prominent florets, and the mashed potatoes had a large scoop missing. The only evidence that the bacon had been eaten beforehand was the sheer lack of it.

Dinner was normal (read: loud and messy), and afterwards, Sabrina went up to the porch roof, trying to get used to the fact that she didn't have any homework to do.

"Mind if I join you?" Puck's scratchy voice said, and Sabrina noticed his head poking over the edge of the roof.

She patted the roof next to her without saying anything.

"I didn't know you liked baseball." Puck said after a few minutes of silence.

"I love it." Sabrina said. "It's my favorite sport."

"I always pinned you more as a football kind of person." Puck shrugged.

"Well, I'd have liked to be." Sabrina said. "But the guys where I grew up wouldn't let me play unless they absolutely needed another player, and then I never got to do anything. But baseball was coed, so I got to prove how good I was. Plus my mom likes it, so we used to go to the batting cages every other weekend, and when I couldn't play, she and I would play catch."

"But baseball's kind of... boring." Puck wrinkled his nose.

Sabrina shook her head. "It's not. I mean, yeah, when you're watching, it looks like there's a lot of standing around doing nothing, but when you're on the field... It's the American pastime, you know. And the less players you have, the better."

"Why?" Puck asked. "Don't you need more players so you can catch anything in the outfield?"

"It makes it easier, but the less people there are, the more action each player gets." Sabrina explained. "Like, if you have one person for the whole outfield, they have to be a lot more skilled at judging who's going to hit a ball where."

"I don't believe you." Puck teased, pulling a strand of Sabrina's hair.

"Well, play a game with me and I'll show you." Sabrina grinned. "I've got a week of not leaving the house, so I've got _lots_ of time to play baseball."

"Fine." Puck said. "But I bet it'll be boring."

"Think what you want." Sabrina shrugged.

"Gosh, get worked up!" Puck snapped, sitting up straight. "Why are you so calm?"

"I dunno." Sabrina shrugged. "Tired, I guess. Or just... not letting you get to me." She winked at him.

Puck made a face. "I liked it better when you got all upset about everything. You were more fun."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I was stupid. Some things are too little to get upset about."

"Like me wanting to protect you?" Puck reminded her.

"_That_ was entirely worth it." Sabrina said loftily. "If I'd _lost_, it would be stupid. But I didn't."

"Don't remind me." Puck muttered.

"You brought it up, not me." Sabrina pointed out.

"My pride is at stake." Puck pointed out. "You're not being very sympathetic."

"When are you ever sympathetic to me?" Sabrina asked. "You gotta dish some out if you want some back, buddy."

"Says you." Puck said. "You're never sympathetic, either!"

"I was when your dad died." Sabrina said.

"Only a cruel, heartless monster would not be nice to someone whose dad had just died." Puck pointed out. "So I don't think that counts."

Sabrina shrugged again. "Buzzbrain."

"Beetlesnot." Puck shot back.

"Fartbreath."

"Raisinbutt."

Sabrina opened her mouth to respond to that and stopped. "How do you know what my butt looks like? I mean, a) there's no way it looks like a raisin, and b) why were you looking at it?"

"I don't!" Puck snapped. "You wish."

"Look, let's not actually get into a fight tonight, OK?" Sabrina asked. "We can trade insults 'til midnight if you want, but no real fights please?"

"Fine." Puck said. "We'll... what do we do, then?"

"Barnaclezits." Sabrina responded.

Puck grinned and said, "Spaghetti hair."


	100. Shawty

**AN~ This chapter is SCANDALOUSLY short, and I'm sorry, but it's been quite a week, and I wanted to get this up by Friday for you. Also cliffhanger. I may not update as often anymore, 'cause I just found out my dad has cancer, and my mom's going to need me to help out around the house more. So this will NOT be finished by the time book 9 comes out.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: Velika Silvertongue, come up and claim your prize!**

New Question of the Day: You have 1000 dollars and ONE DAY to get rid of it all or else. What do you do?

**_Dat Girl:_ That's a more honorable thing than most I've gotten, but because you didn't respond to the chapter at all, just the QotD, you're ineligible to win, sorry.**

**_HUNGERGAMESFAN101:_ Do you have an account? 'Cause that's over 40 chapters worth of explanations, which I don't want to explode an author's note with. How about specific questions? I can do that. But that's a LOT to summarize, especially without PMs.**

**_QN:_ Well, not with swords, because they both have their swords missing as of the Puck betrayal arc (that's important. Remember that), but with magic and big sticks. It irritates me, too, because that's not the type of girl Sabrina would be. No getting arrested for you? Nothing's worth it?**

**_silverwombat:_ What do you mean, didn't get it was serious? Also, Sabrina putting her hair up? What?**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _Good. I, too, would hate it if I killed off Puck. You're assuming that Blackjack has money, though. I don't think pegasi get paid...**

**_Velika Silvertongue: _IRL means 'in real life'. ...Are you on drugs? Where do you come up with these QotD answers?**

* * *

"I want to get my sword back." Puck told Sabrina.

Sabrina, who was weeding a flower bed by the side of the house, looked up at Puck, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes and ignoring the shadow of it that stayed behind. "I just got ungrounded." She reminded him, and went back to weeding. "I don't need to get grounded again."

"You don't need to, if you just rewind time or whatever." Puck pointed out.

"And what if that quits, too?" Sabrina snapped, throwing a thistle at him. "I don't want us stranded in the middle of who knows where without that to help. Besides, we don't even know where they are."

"I've thought it all out." Puck said. "It won't just be us, it'll be a whole bunch of the kids, and we'll go in, do some recon stuff, get our swords, and get out."

"This is a bad idea." Sabrina said.

"We need those back." Puck pointed out. "Besides, don't you want to prove you can fight? The only way your parents and the Old Lady will let you is if you go out and do something that proves you can."

Sabrina glared at him, sitting on the grass next to her weed pile. "No."

"Aw, come on, Grimm!" Puck complained. "Stop being mature here! Do something fun! You're getting boring and grown up!"

"Not falling for it." Sabrina reminded him.

Puck glared at her. "Well, if you won't go, I'll just go anyway. I need that thing back."

"This is _not_ about getting a sword back." Sabrina accused.

"Yes it is!" Puck protested.

"No it's not." Sabrina responded. "You're as edgy as I am. You want some action. You're looking for a fight. And you know you're going to be stuck here the whole summer, so you've decided to drag me out to do some heroics. The swords are just an excuse."

"Of course not!" Puck snapped. "I miss having a real sword! The wooden one doesn't quite cut it anymore."

Then he paused, thinking about what he'd just said, and snickered. "That was _good_. I have reuse that later."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and said, "You're an idiot."

"So will you come?" Puck asked.

"You're talking like this is a trip to the beach or a birthday party or something!" Sabrina protested. "This is dangerous, and even if it wasn't, it would get us in trouble so deep we'd be grounded 'til I was thirty."

"They can't ground me." Puck said.

"No, you can just go back and live with your mom." Sabrina agreed. "Then _she_ can ground you."

"Or I could run off again and live on my own." Puck said. "I'm perfectly capable of that."

"Yeah, you're good at leaving the people who care about you with no contact for ages." Sabrina agreed again.

"Hey!" Puck protested. "That was only... umm... five times? Maybe?"

"_Five_ times?" Sabrina asked incredulously.

"I think." Puck said. "The first time I was really young, so I don't really remember if it was once or twice, and then there was the one ten years ago, and then right after the Midsummer incident I ran off for a while. It was just too embarrassing."

"Wow." Sabrina shook her head.

"So... you're coming, yes?" Puck said, bringing the subject back around to his topic of choice.

"No." Sabrina said. "I have too much to do around here."

"What can be more important than an adventure?" Puck asked, gesturing grandly.

"Yeah, except I don't actually like adventures all that much." Sabrina reminded him. "They're dangerous, and your opinion of what makes them more fun is my opinion of the danger scale going through the roof."

Puck made a face. "You're no fun."

"I'm sorry, but a sword isn't important enough for me to risk that much!" Sabrina explained. "And that's final."

"What if I told you Daphne had already said she was going with me?" Puck asked shrewdly.

"I'd say you were lying." Sabrina said. "And that I have to go back to weeding."

"Why would I like about that?" Puck said. "_She_ wants an adventure."

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "_If_ Daphne goes, I'll come, too. But only if you prove it."

"Oh, don't worry, she'll be there." Puck said, already heading back inside.

* * *

"Marshmallow, I need your help." Puck said.

"What is it?" Daphne looked up from the paint-by-numbers she was doing with Red.

"I... kind of possibly told Sabrina that you'd be going with me to get our swords back..." Puck suggested. "And she said she wouldn't go unless you actually were."

"Why?" Daphne asked. "Why, Puck? Why? It's a sword! Not that big a deal!"

"Come on, Daphne." Puck complained. "It'll be just the three of us. Like old times!"

"I don't think so." Daphne said. "That seems like a bad idea when you can get another sword out of the armory. Plus it'd be dangerous to go in a small group. Remember what Snow said about not going anywhere without a team?"

"Well, I'm going even if you don't go." Puck said. "And if you don't go, then Sabrina won't go, so I'll be alone."

"I'll tell Granny." Daphne said. "They you can't go."

"Oh, sure, tattle." Puck said. "That'll work. Like she can stop me."

"She can!" Daphne protested.

"You willing to bet on that?" Puck grinned at her, his smile growing as Daphne kept silent. "You have a choice, Marshmallow. You can come with me, or you can let me go alone."

Daphne sighed, blowing her cheeks out. "Now you know that's not fair."

"What's not?" Puck asked innocently.

"Now I _have_ to go with you." Daphne complained.

"No you don't." Puck said. "I can go alone."

Daphne snorted. "No you can't."

"Well, he _could_..." Red said.

"But we're not going just the three of us." Daphne said. "We have to take Bella, in case one of us gets hurt, and someone who can fight."

"We can fight!" Puck said.

"Yeah, but you'll be busy finding your swords." Daphne pointed out. "We're taking at least two more people, and that's final."

"Fine." Puck made a face.

* * *

In the end, it was fourteen of them who went. Puck hadn't wanted it to be that many, but one thing led to another, and more people just had to be invited.

So they met at 11:15 behind the house and headed out, walking because most of them couldn't fly.

"This is going to take forever." Sabrina muttered. "We wandered around in these woods for _days_ trying to find our way home."

"We know which way we're going now, though." Annie, who had tagged along because Bella insisted on bringing Marcus, said.

"It's still, like, ten miles." Sabrina said. "I don't want to walk all of that. But less than half of us can fly."

"We could fly and carry each other." Peaseblossom suggested. She hadn't been invited, but had overheard the trip being discussed, and refused to let her brothers go alone.

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea." Art said. "Daphne, c'mere, I'll carry you."

"I hope you know you're carrying more than one person." Bella said. "You're the strongest of the bunch, even with your chest muscles like that."

"I know. But I'm carrying Daphne." Art responded nonchalantly.

Sabrina ended up carrying Wendell, and decided that it wasn't actually much easier to fly, because they had to stay below the tree line so they wouldn't be seen, and it was hard to fly between branches with wings her size. But it was still faster than walking, so she didn't complain.

When they got within sight of the castle, Bella and Daphne both transformed into animals- Bella her token frog, and Daphne a bat- to search for sentries and take them out of commission, while the others waited in tense silence.

Bella returned a few minutes later, walking normally, and said, "Coast clear."

They followed her into the castle yard cautiously, on alert for any sign of life. Sabrina found herself at a disadvantage here, because she could see the ghosts of everyone who had ever walked across the pathways. They reached the door and Daphne after a few silent minutes.

"It's locked." She whispered.

"No problemo." Jonas whispered back, pulling a series of thin metal rods out of his pocket and kneeling down by the door.

Another few minutes went by (Sabrina was counting, eyes closed against a headache), and the door opened with a click. The group hurried inside, and Jonas locked the door behind them.

Everyone turned to look at Puck, then, and after a second he asked, "What?"

"Where are we going now?" Peaseblossom asked. "You do have an idea, right?"

"Of course I do." Puck said, and when they looked at him skeptically, he said, "No, seriously, I know."

"Lead away, then." Mustardseed gestured.

Puck led them down to the dungeon in silence, holding his crumpled map in front of him. When they reached the cell that had held Sabrina, Mr. Clay, and Peter, he stopped.

"What are we doing here, then?" Marcus asked. "Is this where they're keeping the swords?"

"No." Puck said. "Sabrina, c'mere for a minute?"

"What?" Sabrina asked cautiously, stepping forward. She did _not_ like this place.

"Can you see where Mab was?" Puck asked.

Sabrina squinted at the shadows, trying to pick out individual ones: there she was, escaping, so... a few days earler... "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Follow her." Puck said. "She's taking the swords someplace. We need you to see where she took them."

"I'm not sure I can..." Sabrina shrugged. "But I'll try..."

"Well, if you can't, we'll just be wandering around looking for them." Puck said. "You're the only-"

"Shut up so I can concentrate." Sabrina snapped.

Puck opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, grinning a bit. Sabrina led the group on, pausing every now and then to squint at something none of the rest of them could see, but eventually she stopped for good in front of a particularly ornate door. Puck had been tracing their route on the map, and he marked it off with a pencil.

"She goes in here with the swords and then comes out without them." Sabrina told the group. "I don't know what's in there, though."

"I've never been in there." Peaseblossom said. "But I know there's something important and rare inside. And probably horrible, too."

"I walked by this part of the palace once or twice, but never went in." Puck shrugged.

"Well, let's go in, then!" Art said.

"Maybe not so fast?" Daphne suggested. "Just in case?"

Jonas was already picking the lock, though. Daphne shook her head and watched. Jonas stood up a few seconds later, though, and said, "It's already unlocked."

"Weird..." Puck said. "Well, in we go, then."

Jonas opened the door and stepped inside, followed by the others.

Once they were all inside and had shut the door behind them, a light pulsed overhead once, and then they were ambushed.


	101. Nightmare

**AN~ Don't freak out over this chapter, I know it'll be confusing, and I know it's annoying that the explanation has to carry over into next chapter, I WANTED to get everything with this section into one chapter, but then some of my mini-scenes got too long 'cause I added FOURTEEN people here when it probably should have been less. But I know it'll be confusing, I'll explain in the next chapter, I promise.**

**Certain parts of this chapter are the property of one ANannyMouse, and I own them not.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: PenguinLoverGurl because holy crow. Though most of you had some really neat ideas. Hers was just insane and made me laugh, and I really needed that.**

New Question of the Day: Invent a new mode of transportation using only things in the room you are in while reading this and duct tape.

**_silverwombat: _All right, now I get what you meant, and thanks.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ And THAT assumes that demigods have money. Most of them are teenagers, and teenagers are usually quite broke. And that's quite a thing to do with your money. Can't exactly be done in this universe, but... Also Red came along. I think that's it, but I'm not sure. How many did I say came? I'll figure it out. (This was written before the chapter)**

**_Velika Silvertongue: _I... am not going to reply to the first part of that review. OOOH I LOVE CADBURY CREAM EGGS! I think you might have surpassed your limit a bit.**

**_(): _That's a lot of shoes... When would you find time to wear them all?**

**_Christine Dae:_ Thank you for being understanding. It's nice that you'll be OK with my updates becoming erratic. That's a really nice thing to do, though I think you should maybe buy them food instead, 'cause you never know, they might just use the money to buy drugs or something.**

**_MushroomsOnHills: _Thanks a ton! ^.^ Your QotD: Pillsbury makes cookies? I thought they just did mixes and the stuff in the cans...**

* * *

Sabrina found herself surrounded by Scarlet Hand members in a huge room, and they were picking off the other members of her group one by one. "Where did they come from?" She screeched.

"They had to know we were coming." Peaseblossom called. "There's no way they'd all be here otherwise!"

She was right. Moth, the Queen of Hearts, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Mab, the Beast, and several other extremely prominent Scarlet Hand members were in the room. There was no way they'd all have been there unless they'd been forewarned.

Sabrina, with no weapons, found herself frozen in terror, unable to move. "How did they know?" She screamed.

"Simple, Grimm." Puck said, appearing in front of her, a smile on his face. "I told them."

"You?" Sabrina asked. "But..."

Puck laughed, and the sound was cruel. "Did you think I was really back on your side? Why would I do that when I had people to wait on my every need, and a girl who cared about me? A girl who knew how to show affection, one five times better than you on any day. I'm a prince, and I deserve better than an attic bedroom in a backwater town full of refugees."

There was a scream in the background, and Sabrina winced. It sounded like Peaseblossom. Puck didn't react at all.

"So this whole thing was a trap?" Sabrina asked. "You waited until you knew we all trusted you, and then you lured us here?"

"Not just that." Puck grinned. "How well do you think that barrier you put around the house will last once you're dead? All the Grimms will be gone, and the Scarlet Hand can free Mirror and get out of here to rule the world. Without your family, Charming's army will collapse- you've got all their resources, and you're what's keeping the battle in one spot. Maybe, if you're lucky, we won't make you watch them die." Moth appeared next to him, then, and the two wrapped their arms around each other.

There was another scream, and Sabrina's heart stopped beating, because she'd know that voice anywhere: that was Daphne's scream. Daphne, her sister, the girl she'd built her life around, had been hurt. She ran for the source, turning her back on Puck, blocking the news out of her heart so that she wouldn't break down crying, rushing to protect her sister.

When she made it to Daphne, though, it was too late. The ten year old was lying alone on the ground, her feather-hair splayed around her, a wound in her side gushing red that seeped into her clothes and spread onto the tile floor, forming a puddle that Sabrina almost slipped in as she knelt next to her sister. "Daphne?" She whispered.

Daphne didn't say anything, reaching her hand out to Sabrina's face. Sabrina held it to her cheek, not caring about the bloodstains, and watched as her sister's eyes lost their spark. The sound died away, and Sabrina didn't know how long she stayed there, but when she stood up, she was surrounded by the dead: her sister, her cousin, all the friends she'd brought, about twenty Scarlet Hand members, including Puck. There was so much blood that the floor was almost solid crimson. She didn't know why she'd been spared

Sabrina stood, numb, among the dead, in her own personal nightmare.

* * *

Marcus was drowning. The room was full of water, and he was going down, down, down, and he couldn't breathe. He knew nothing else, not what had happened to anyone, not where he was, just that he couldn't swim, and that he couldn't hold his breath much longer.

* * *

Red stood alone in the spacious, well-lit, empty space. "G-guys?" She called. "Where is everyone?"

"Right here." Daphne's voice called. "Can't you see us?"

"No." Red said, spinning around. "Where are you?"

"Right in front of you." Puck's voice said.

"B-but there's nobody here!" Red cried, her voice rising an octave. "I'm the only one in the room!"

"Are you sure about that?" A voice she'd almost forgotten, one she hadn't heard in almost four hundred year, said.

"G-grandmother?" Red asked. "You're dead."

"Of course I'm not, dear." The old woman said. "You just have to find me."

"No!" Red called. "I saw you die! I saw the wolf eat you!"

"Nonsense, dear." Her grandmother said, and her face began shifting. "You've seen me here. And your parents, and your brother, and your dog, even your kitty. All you have to do is find us." Once she'd finished saying this, her face had changed, and in front of Red stood Granny Relda. "I'm waiting for you, Little Red. Come find me."

"No!" Red called, burying her face in her hands. "It's not true! I have a new family!

"Red?" Daphne said. "What are you talking about? Who are you talking _to_?"

Red uncovered her eyes to find herself in an empty room, surrounded by her friends. "My... nobody."

"You sure?" Bella said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You seemed pretty worked up."

"Yeah." Red nodded, seeing a shadow behind Bella, and turning to stare at it. "I'm fine."

"I don't think she's fine." Sabrina said. "Look at her! All worked up over something the rest of us didn't see. I bet she's gone crazy again."

"I think you're right." Peaseblossom said. "She has to be crazy."

The others began muttering something, too, and backing away from Red. She overheard snippets, things like, 'knew the kazoo couldn't really' and 'dangerous'.

"I'm not!" Red protested. "Daphne?" She turned to her best friend imploringly. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

But as she was staring at Daphne, her face changed, morphing to a hook-nosed monstrosity, and Red backed away with a gasp.

Daphne's face shifted back to normal, and Red watched as her friend shook her head and backed away, too. "I'm sorry, Red. I guess I was wrong."

"But-" Red whispered.

"Crazy crazy." A voice taunted from nearby, and Red's head shot up. It was a monster, a horrible monster, with scales and teeth in all the wrong spots, and too many eyes, and it was laughing at her, taunting her. It was joined by another, and another, and then Jonas, and then Marcus, and then more monsters, and finally everyone that had come on the trip and more monsters than she could count were standing around her in a circle, calling her crazy and laughing at her, and spinning.

All Red could do was sink down on herself in the middle and sob quietly, "I'm not! I'm not!" But she was beginning to doubt. After all, what sane person had stuff like this happen to them?

* * *

Renee tripped on the way into the room and fell into a split, ripping her pants wide open at the seam. Puck snickered, then laughed, and he was soon joined by everyone else, including Mustardseed.

She looked at her boyfriend, hurt, and he said around snorts, "You just look so stupid!"

Renee wished she could sink into the floor, and she felt her face grow more and more red.

* * *

"Peaseblossom, where have you been?" Mab's voice called.

"What do you mean, where have I been?" Peaseblossom snapped. "I left! What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of your daughter, of course." Mab said, raising her eyebrows. "What else would I be doing here?"

"But... I don't have a daughter." Peaseblossom whispered. "I'm still pregnant."

"Of course I'd let you think that." Mab said. "You'd make a horrible mother, after all. So I put you under for the time it would take to have the baby, so you thought you hadn't aged. And I raised your daughter on my own. She doesn't know that, though. She thinks you didn't want her."

"What?" Peaseblossom's eye opened wide. "No!" This is impossible!"

"Would you like to meet your daughter?" Mab offered. "She's wanted to meet you for quite some time. After all, she's met the rest of her family."

Peaseblossom opened her mouth to respond, but it was too late, a pretty girl around nine years old was stepping out from behind the older fairy woman. She was the spitting image of Peaseblossom herself at that age, with blonde hair that curled just enough to be interesting, but not enough to be frizzy, an upturned nose, brown eyes uncommon in fairies, and a smattering of freckles on her well-defined cheekbones. There was no way Mab could have faked this: that girl looked more like Peaseblossom than she looked like her parents.

"H-hello." She stuttered. "Hello, my baby."

"You're the woman that gave birth to me?" The girl said coldly.

Peaseblossom's eyes widened at her tone. "Yes." She said.

"Well, I want nothing to do with you." The girl said. "Go away."

"What?" Peaseblossom asked, her voice almost silent.

"Well, it appears she thinks you're not a good mother." Mab smiled as the girl wrapped her arms around her. "And you know, you_ have_ been conspicuously absent for the past age. How about we let her choose who she wants to be her mother? You or me."

"No choice at all." The girl said. "I will stay with you, Mab."

"But..." Peaseblossom said, as the girl walked off again, "But I didn't even know you'd been born."

"Face it, Peaseblossom." Mab said. "You'd have made a horrible mother. I just saved you the trouble of finding it out for yourself. Besides, you're full of all sorts of... ideas. I didn't want you affecting your child like that. I did us all a favor." She smiled and walked away, leaving Peaseblossom alone and heartbroken.

* * *

The room looked perfectly normal for Daphne. She didn't see what was so wrong about it, or why Peaseblossom said it must be something horrible. Just a big, plain room with white walls and a black and white tile floor.

"Daphne, I want you to go home." Sabrina said.

"What?" Daphne asked. "Why?"

"Because this will be too dangerous for you." Sabrina said. "You're too young. It's not safe."

"You're barely older than I am!" Daphne pointed out.

"I don't care, it's not safe for you." Sabrina said. "I don't trust you to do anything, you know that. You're a baby."

"I am not!" Daphne stomped her foot, then stomped. What had possessed her to do that? It was so immature!

"Actually, Daphne..." Peaseblossom said, "You are kind of young... Maybe you should go home. Just in case."

"Nobody thinks you're old enough to do anything, you know." Puck added. "We've just been humoring you. You're the baby girl. You need to be protected."

"Go home, Daphne." Red said softly. "Be safe. Let your parents take you back to New York City with your brother, and pretend this was all a dream."

* * *

Will felt the floor slide out from underneath him, and he felt himself falling. He shut his eyes, afraid to see the ground beneath him, hearing the air whistle around his ears, louder and louder as he sped up, his feet tingling in expectation, as he tumbled head over heels over head, and his eyes opened, and he saw his family and their friends falling too, in front of him then gone as he tumbled, all screaming, and he finally saw the ground, growing closer but still far away, and he knew that from this height he'd die, maybe from a heart attack before he hit the ground- he'd dreamed this enough, and he'd read up on it, and he was going to die.

* * *

"Hello, Annie."

Annie looked up in horror: it was the man. She'd been neighbors with the lady he was engaged to, and he scared the crap out of her. He hadn't done anything to warrant it, really, but he'd been horrifying just the same. She couldn't put her finger on the source of the bad feeling she got from him, but she just _knew_ he was going to do something horrible. The two had taken her out for dinner, and when she got back home she was so freaked out she locked all the doors and windows and locked herself in the bathroom. He was one thing she'd never missed when she moved to Ferryport Landing.

And now he was in front of her, a creepy smile on his face. "Let's get started, shall we?" He said slowly, pulling something out from behind his back.

Annie screamed.

* * *

Art heard the floors begin to grate as soon as the doors shut, and his eyes widened in horror, because he knew that sound from movies: that was the sound of the walls closing in.

More than anything, Art was afraid of closed spaces. He'd been trapped in a cave once, in his early childhood, following Jonas and Puck on an adventure, and because he was so big even then, he hadn't been able to spin to morph into something small enough to escape, and ever since, he'd been terrified of being trapped somewhere. Claustrophobia, they called it. The fear of small spaces.

That flashed through his mind as the walls moved in, and he raced back to the door, to get back out. No sword was important enough to crush himself for. But the door was locked, and the walls were moving closer and closer, and he was going to be crushed.

* * *

Jonas watched from the background as Sabrina and Puck talked, hiding from the battle. Puck a traitor? But... Puck wasn't a traitor! That was his job! How could Puck do that? He'd trusted him! Everyone had trusted him! And... Moth? Puck and...

No!

First, that was disgusting, and second, he'd _trusted_ Puck!

As Sabrina ran off, Jonas ran towards Puck, pulling out his dagger and screaming, "I _trusted_ you!"

But before he could get there, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and spun, seeing Art in front of him, a bloody dagger in his hand. A dagger that had just been in Jonas' back.

"Looks like you trusted the wrong people." Art said flatly, walking off.

* * *

When the door closed on Wendell, he was met with snakes. Snakes all over the floor, up the walls sometimes, crawling over his feet and up his legs.

He'd always been afraid of snakes, ever since he was little. They'd been the first thing he'd learned to use his harmonica on, and that had mostly cured his fear, but they still gave him the creeps. He pulled out his harmonica to clear a pathway, and blew.

Nothing happened.

Bella laughed. "See? This is why I broke up with you. You're no good at anything! Who could like a loser like you?"

The snakes around him, helpless to do anything, Wendell wanted to cry, because she was telling the truth.

* * *

Bella, upon stepping into the room, was met with an enormous spider, bigger than Tobey had been by at least a foot, and hairy. She shrieked, backing up into Marcus, as the spider walked forward on those eight hideous legs, its pincers clicking.

Wendell stepped in front of it, pulling out his harmonica, but before he had a chance to play it, the spider grabbed him with its front legs and pulled it to his mouth, sinking its fang-things into his side. Bella watched as Wendell's skin deflated, growing dry and papery, and three fat red splotches fell to the floor, spattering out as they did. The spider dropped Wendell's body and advanced toward them.

Bella and the others backed up into a sticky rope, and she shrieked again as the spider advanced, because she knew there was no getting out of this web.

* * *

"Mustardseed, I can't believe you!"

"What?" Mustardseed looked up, shocked, to see his mother in front of him. "Why are you here? What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, son, but you're not fit to be king. You followed Puck here on a fool's errand. I expect things like that from _him_, but not from you. You're the responsible one. Why would you come to enemy territory when you _know_ children aren't to be going on missions? I'm very disappointed in you, son. I expect more from you."

"I was trying to protect him!" Mustardseed protested. "And you still haven't told me what you're doing here!"

"I followed you." Titania said. "Since I obviously can't trust any of my children to report these things to a responsible adult."

"I am responsible!" Mustardseed protested again. "I made the decision that I thought was best considering the situation, mother!"

"Well, it was the wrong one." Titania said. "And I wonder... If I can't trust you on decisions like this, were any of the other decisions you made wise ones? Like giving Moth a trial. That didn't turn out too well. We should simply have killed her, like we would have in the old days."

"Mother, we can't live like that anymore!" Mustardseed said. "We need to change with the times. What if we'd killed an innocent?"

"Yes, you've mentioned." Titania said. "But I don't think I trust your judgement. I believe you'll have to step down from making decisions for a while, son. Until I know we can trust you. I'm very disappointed in you."


	102. Testing of Another Sort

**AN~ How about that. Your scheduled Friday update is on time.**

**The Winner of Last Question of the Day: Psychobrunette for an airplane running off sewing machine parts. Because that's just cool.**

New Question of the Day: Make up a crazy Sisters Grimm pairing. Anyone to anyone else, but it can't be a canon pairing. I'd also rather it wasn't in a preestablished fic, unless it's one you wrote yourself.

**_Hunni pie: _Thank you, I appreciate it.**

**_Agd:_ So you have an account? This is news. I must find you. Can I have a hint? Thanks! I was worried it'd be confusing, I'm glad it wasn't. QotD: Seems like they'd wear out kind of fast, though... Bananas are slippery 'cause the stuff on the inside of the peel.**

**_silverwombat:_ Thanks for the review! It's a fun idea, isn't it? Does that mean we're mean? That we enjoy shoving a character's worst fears on them?**

**_Ninjabunny:_ It's not real. It's an illusion. The title of the chapter was 'Nightmare' for a reason.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ Guess what? You actually didn't say anything about the chapter in your long review, so it's, while detailed and cool, not eligible to win the QotD.**

**_Velika Silvertonge: _Daphne isn't dead, but that's Sabrina's nightmare. I'm not sure I can let you slide with 'belonging to you' when the request was 'in the room'...**

* * *

Puck found himself in a classroom. All the others sat down, as if this was completely normal, in the desks. Oddly enough, most of the other kids in town were either already there or coming in behind him, despite the fact that this was supposed to be a mission to get weapons back, and they all looked completely at ease.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"We're having class, didn't you know?" Peaseblossom said. "An emergency one. I though you'd gotten the message."

"Honestly." Annie rolled her eyes. "You'd think you'd figure it out. All the rest of us knew."

Puck suddenly found himself to be the only one standing, surrounded by seated people waiting for him expectantly.

"Well?" Mustardseed said, giving him an impatient look, one he'd seen often enough when he was little, and given back plenty of times, too. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

"Right." Puck muttered, slipping into an empty seat in the front row, because there were none left in the back.

The teacher walked through the door, and Puck shuddered: it was his old tutor, from back when Titania and Oberon had held court in Greece. He'd hated the man, who always made him feel like an idiot. He'd been ecstatic when he'd been fired and Puck had been left to do his own thing.

The man began speaking, and Puck realized after a few seconds that he had no idea what the man was saying. It might as well have been Swahili, for all he understood. But everyone else was nodding and listening like it made perfect sense. Some of them were even taking notes. But Puck had no paper, no pencil, and no idea what was supposed to be happening, so he just sat there feeling stupider and stupider, looking around at everyone else, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Puck." The man's voice broke through, and Puck realized his name had been being called for some time.

"Huh?" Puck looked up with a 'deer in the headlights' expression.

The teacher repeated his question, and Puck didn't understand a word of it. _What was going on_?

And then the laughter began.

It grew louder and louder, ringing in his ears, people laughing at him instead of with him, and he felt his face flush, for the first time in decades.

Then the crushing blow: Sabrina, two seats over, saying "What an idiot," while that Marcus boy nodded and grabbed her hand.

The laughter, which sounded more like shrieks by now, died down, and the teacher repeated the question. It made no more sense than before, but he understood words. They didn't fit, though. They sounded like other people's voices. People in the room. The teacher was sobbing with Sabrina's voice, then screaming in Red's. It didn't make sense.

None of it made sense.

And suddenly, he got it. This was an illusion. He probably hadn't moved since the door shut; the room was bringing his fears to life.

And if shutting the door was what had turned it on...

Puck ran back to the entrance to the room, concentrating very hard on running, and yanked the door open.

There was a sound kind of like an old T.V. shutting off, and suddenly everyone was back where they'd been before, blinking and coughing and crying, respectively.

* * *

Sabrina, who had been wandering the room, watching the ghosts of the others: Red was crying, surrounded by a circle of monsters, and Jonas was stabbing Puck, suddenly found herself standing surrounded by her friends and family, as if nothing had changed. The bodies disappeared, and the blood melted away as if it had never existed.

"Wha-"? She said, staring around. "But- you were all- everyone- how are you all alive?"

"It's a fear room." Puck's voice came by the entrance to the doorway. "When the door is closed, our worst fears come to life in here."

"How do you know?" Daphne asked.

Puck shrugged. "I think we overloaded it a bit, 'cause I was hearing you guys screaming a bit. Plus my fear didn't really fit the situation too well."

Nobody asked what his fear was. They might have, at another time, but after being met with their own most horrible nightmares, they all felt that that was a private thing, not something to be shared.

"So I guess we leave the door open, then?" Annie suggested.

Marcus shook his head. "Bad idea. I say we open the other door, _then_ close this one. That way we don't let anyone know we're here."

"Sounds smart to me." Peaseblossom said, shuddering. "But we're leaving one door open all the time, OK?"

Sabrina nodded, sprinting to the other door and opening it. Puck shut his door, and they all filed through. This time, the door shut itself on them, and Sabrina was plunged into darkness.

"What's going on?" She asked. "What happened to the lights?"

"Umm... they're still on." Puck said. "I don't know what your problem is."

"Speak up!" Daphne half-shouted. "I can't hear you!"

"I think I've figured it out." Peaseblossom said. "This room is another trial. We've each lost a sense."

"What did you lose, then?" Sabrina asked.

"Touch." Peaseblossom said.

"All right, raise your hand if you're blind!" Mustardseed called.

Sabrina raised her hand, and she assumed several other people did, too, because there was a flurry of motion, and she suddenly found a hand in hers.

"I'm taking you across, Grimm, since I lucked out." Puck said, and she heard the smile in his voice. "I just can't smell."

"So nothing's changed, then?" Sabrina asked, stepping forward when Puck tugged her hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Puck asked.

Sabrina opened her mouth, then thought better of it. It was probably a really bad idea to insult the person who was keeping her from running into walls. "I'll tell you once we're in the next room." She said.

"That was remarkably easy." Mustardseed said, and the door opened. Sabrina knew because she could see again.

"Maybe we should take our time with the next one?" Art suggested. "Just in case. Since we have no idea what's back there, and I'm betting it's something bad."

Daphne nodded. "I didn't like that last one."

Renee shrugged. "Well, it's not like we can really prepare anyway, you know?" She stepped through the door.

Sabrina and Puck looked at each other, shrugged, and also walked through, and the others followed. This door, too, slammed behind them. Then they all stared, because the room was a huge obstacle course. Most of the floor was a pit strung across with ropes, swaying bridges that reached to nowhere, far-spread posts that stuck up from the floor, and spikes. The ceiling was covered in spinning blades that hung six feet above the crossways, and in a few spaces there were giant maces swinging back and forth irregularly. Sabrina sniffed, and realized that the bubbling noise she heard in the background was acid- hot acid, the air in the room was thick and heavy. The pit wasn't empty, it was almost full of the boiling liquid death, and the lowest of the swaying bridges had holes in the boards with thin, pockmarked edges, which meant that the easiest ways to cross was also the most dangerous.

"Well, at least we can trust ourselves this time." Daphne said brightly. "At least, if you're seeing a huge pit full of acid and a whole lot of not-smart ways to get over it."

"Yeah, pretty much." Sabrina said. "And I don't know about you fairies, but I can't fly that. The floor and ceiling are too close together."

"I could _try_." Jonas said doubtfully. "But it's probably not smart, since that stuff keep popping, and I don't really want to try to keep one eye on the ground and one eye on the ceiling the whole way across."

"I think we ought to try our best with the ropes and bridges." Wendell said. "It's just the safest way."

Daphne shook her head and said, "I can fly." She morphed into a small black bird and fluttered across the space, going mostly in a straight line.

"Show-off." Sabrina called as Daphne landed on the other side and turned back into a human.

Daphne just grinned at her sister.

"That's actually a really good idea." Jonas grinned. "I'm doing that, too!" He, followed by Peaseblossom and Art, flew across. Puck stayed behind.

"You're not going with them?" Sabrina asked, nodding at the people on the other side of the room.

"Nah." Puck shrugged. "I'll do it the fun way. I need a challenge."

"I changed my mind." Sabrina said. _"You're_ the show-off."

"You just figured this out?" Bella said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Puck said, drawing himself up. "I resemble that remark! ...I mean, I resent that."

Sabrina snorted, and several other people laughed, muttering 'resemble that...'

Puck drew himself up loftily and said "Well, we should be going, shouldn't we?"

It was hard going, getting across, even for Sabrina, who was one of the most athletic among them: the bridges threatened to crack under their weight, and when more than one person walked across them, they wobbled dangerously. The ropes with no bridges were even harder, and they tried to avoid those whenever possible, because sometimes the acid had eaten through those, too, making them threaten to snap. In some places, they had to jump from pillar to pillar, and most of the pillars were made of slippery acid-resistant glass, which was not good for balancing on. Wendell and Red almost fell off a few times. But they all made it safely across, with no more than a few burns, and stood staring at the next door and panting.

"Don't suppose it would be OK to wait here for a few minutes and catch our breath?" Marcus asked hopefully, sitting down.

Bella shook her head, tugging at his hand to pull him up. "There could be more people following us. We have to keep going."

Wendell and Annie both glared at Bella and Marcus as Daphne pushed open the next door and said, "Whoa."

"What is it?" Sabrina asked, peering around her sister's shoulder. Her eyes widened.

"It's a huge chess game." Daphne whispered. "This is amazing! It's straight out of Harry Potter!"

"This whole thing has seemed like something out of that series." Art muttered. "The series of rooms that are tests? They're just different tests."

They stepped through to the other side, but Annie stayed behind, pulling Marcus with her. "Can you excuse us for a minute?" She asked, looking pointedly at Bella.

"Sure." Bella raised her hands and backed up. "Go right ahead and talk."

Marcus and Annie emerged a few minutes later, Annie with a large smile on her face, their pinkies hooked. Peaseblossom smiled knowingly, and Sabrina snickered. Puck rolled his eyes, and Bella made a face.

"You're late." Jonas said. "You two are going to have to be pawns."

Everyone else had already taken the place of a chess piece. Marcus and Annie, blushing a little, stepped in as white pawns.

"So you know how this is like Harry Potter?" Daphne asked from a bishop's spot.

"Yeah..." Red said, from the place of the pawn directly in front of Daphne.

"I hope it's not like Harry Potter in the way that means if we get taken, we get knocked out..."

"Bit late for that." Sabrina said. She was playing a rook.

"Right." Puck said, rubbing his hands together. He was hovering overhead, to instruct everyone else, instead of being a piece. "Time to play." He took a deep breath and said, "Red. Go forward one space."

Red complied. The knight across from Art jumped forward in its L-shape.

"Marcus. Forward two." Puck said, and Marcus moved forward from his space in front of Art, the knight on the left.

Puck continued to issue orders, trying to save as many of their pieces as possible, and thankfully, when they were taken, they were simply transported to a cage off to the side of the room that nobody had noticed beforehand. Puck also managed to get several pawns across the board, trading the ones who weren't people back for lost pieces. At the end of the game, nine of them had made it through, and the cage door opened. But when those who hadn't been on the board at the end tried to leave, they found that they couldn't.

"I guess you have to make it all the way." Puck scratched his head. "I betcha I can't get through, either." He pushed a hand towards the wall. "Nope."

"So you five will have to stay, then." Peaseblossom said. "Should we wait for you?"

Daphne shook her head. "We'll catch up in the next room, you guys go on."

Sabrina complied, looking back at the others worriedly as she did. It grated against her, leaving her sister and Puck back in there by themselves. But then she was in the next room, and it was too late to think about anything else.

"There's nothing here." Bella said. "What's going on?"

Jonas shrugged. "Dunno, but I betcha by the time we figure it out they'll be here already."

"Or we could go read that plaque over there." Red said, pointing.

Sabrina trotted over and read: "Forever here you must stay/Until your treasure/Here you lay."

"That's an awful poem." Annie said.

Sabrina shrugged. "I didn't write it."

"So we have to leave something important here." Renee mused. "Like what, though?"

"I haven't got anything valuable." Jonas said. "Not on me, anyway."

"It might not be something physical, per se." Peaseblossom suggested. "Mab's the type that would accept stuff that's really important, you know? Like a feeling or a person or a skill."

"What if it's not?" Sabrina asked. "What if we actually have to give a legitimate treasure? 'Cause the only valuable things I have are my necklace and this ring. We came here for my valuable stuff."

"I don't know." Peaseblossom said, putting her hand on the plaque. "If we're lucky, we can just-" When she touched it, the plaque glowed, and she suddenly looked a bit thinner.

"Oh." She said. "Yeah. It works. Touch it, and you give up your treasure."

"Do we get it back?" Renee asked warily.

"I hope so." Peaseblossom said. "But if not..." She shuddered. "I think I could maybe live with it. Maybe."

Sabrina shrugged and pulled off her necklace, throwing it at the plaque. When they met, there was a flash of light, and the necklace disappeared.

"What if it doesn't like our treasure?" Jonas asked. "How will we know?"

"Try giving something up and see." Sabrina suggested.

Jonas shrugged and kicked his right leg forward. His shoe came flying off, laces trailing, and it hit the plaque with a thud. There was a crash, and it bounced back, hitting Jonas in the face.

"Ow." He muttered, rubbing his face as he sat down to put his shoe back on.

"I don't even want to see what happens if we try to do that with something like what Peaseblossom did." Annie muttered.

"You and me both." Marcus said, and Annie smiled at him.

"That's what you two are giving up, then." Bella said promptly.

They both looked at her, confused.

"They way you feel about each other." Bella said. "Or knowing it, anyway."

"What?" Annie backed off, incredulous. "No way!"

"It makes sense, actually." Peaseblossom mused. "Giving up knowing. That way if you get it back, everything's good. But if you don't get it back, you just have to confess again."

Marcus looked at Annie, shrugged, and put his hand on the plaque. It lit up, and he blinked at the group. "Did you say something?"

"Guess it erased everything to do with it." Peaseblossom said. "Interesting. Your turn, Annie."

Annie sighed but muttered, "Fine." She, too, stuck her hand on the plaque and gave everyone blank looks once the light disappeared.

"My turn." Bella said, sticking her hand on the plaque. Once the light disappeared, her skin looked far less smooth, and she began scratching furiously.

The others, one by one, gave up their treasures, and by the time they'd each decided on what to give up and given it, Puck, Daphne, and the others had emerged from the chess room, and they, too, sacrificed something precious to them. Nobody asked what anyone else had given up if the information wasn't offered. That was too personal.

Then they went to the next room, which, unbeknownst to them, was the worst of them all.


	103. A Drug Called Desire

**AN~ ****This AN is unfairly long, and I wouldn't blame you in the least for skipping it, unless you're an anonymous reviewer looking for a reply, or complaining 'cause I should have given you an extra-long chapter. I tried, but you only got 200 extra words, sorry.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Archer Princess for Sabrina or Daphne/Oog. Because Daphne/Oog. Because yes. XD Step up and claim your prize! Though all of you thought up some pretty awesome things, even if some of them scared me.**

New QotD: Think up a NEW prank for Puck to play on Sabrina. None of the shrinking her clothes or dying her hair stuff we normally get, I want something ORIGINAL.

**_Agd: _Abbey Grimm Dawn? (I totally cheated and searched you, but am I right?) I never thought Mustardseed was SMARTER than Puck, just more studious/knowledgeable. I've seen a DaphnexPuck story, and I think they'd get along great, but I'm pretty sure Sabrina needs someone like Puck more than Daphne does. Daphne needs someone kind of like Red, but male, or someone like Sabrina but less angry.  
**

**_() with Sabrina's_ _birthday:_ It was an accident, but I'm glad you're happy.**

**_egypt:_ You didn't respond to the chapter, so you're not eligible for the competition, sorry.**

**_penguinsinthedesert:_ I'll try to hurry, but there's a good bit left to go. I don't really know any good HP fanfics, 'cause I don't want to sort through the icky ones to get there. Puck didn't want to share what he gave up, so we're not going to pry.**

**_Velika Silvertongue:_ And this time you didn't respond to the chapter. :) Next time.**

**_Delaney:_ 23: That was a bit of a run-on sentence, and I think it might have been nice if you realized that the chapter you were reviewing was about three years old before giving me advice, much as I like critiques. I have reasons for everything I did in this fic, and the perceived OOC-ness you mentioned is included in that. For one thing, don't you think that if Red's been living with the Grimms for three months, she'll have started to talk a bit, and if Sabrina's family is all together and getting along, she won't have as much to worry about, so don't you think she'll be happier? Also, I do mention Elvis. Which, if you get this far, you'll know. So maybe next time make sure you've got all the information before you go giving me advice? 42: Also, I've been told about fifty times that the Janus chapter is confusing, I'm going to give it a complete rewrite eventually, but I want to get the rest of the story finished before I give the old stuff a makeover. 105: I try to update on Fridays usually. I'm glad you like the newer stuff. :) Do you have an account?  
**

**_() of Chapter 76 when you get here:_ Yes. I know. I will go back and change it to Emerald Foot. I've been told several times. I'm sorry you've been staying up late to read this, but I don't really think that's my fault (also, it's not good for anyone, really, age doesn't matter XD). I'm working on finishing, but I have a life, too, and it's kind of really hectic right now and this is long. If you want me to rush to the end, I'm sorry, but I also like to have quality work. Sorry if I came across as rude, but then again, so did your review. Thanks anyway.**

**_Kathie:_ ^.^ Thank you! I'm not sharing the treasures because a) I'm lazy and b) I'm already baring a lot of these people's souls to you all, they can keep that bit private. QotD: Whoa. Both of those are weird.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _Thanks! And nope, that's personal information that they asked me not to share. Also, no. Sabrina just likes Puck. Marcus and she are just friends. Marcus likes Annie, who likes Marcus, and Bella likes Marcus and Wendell, who likes just Bella. You were right with Daphne. But Mustardseed and Renee like each other now and are an item. That was a LOT of QotD things... Some of them frightened me.**

**_Christine daa: _Thanks for the review! Actually, I've seen a few DaphnexRed fics. I just don't think either of them likes girls like that.**

**_silverwombat: _Building character for our characters... XD Thank you! DaphnexCanis? Really? Euugh...**

* * *

"Puck." Sabrina said, turning to him once the door to the next room closed.

He looked over at her, and blinked. The look in her eyes was nothing he'd ever seen before.

"Wassup?" He asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing much..." Sabrina said, walking closer. "But, since we're the first two in here, I thought I'd take this second to tell you something." She shut the door as she passed it, walking towards Puck with her hips swaying in that way she'd do sometimes, when she remembered.

"Oh?" He gulped, pulse rate rising. He stood his ground, though. He wasn't backing away from Sabrina.

She stopped toe to toe with him and leaned in very close, her breath (it smelled like blueberry yogurt) warm on his face as she whispered, "I love you."

Puck just stared.

Sabrina sighed and stood on tiptoe, leaning in even closer to him, her chest pressed against his, and pulled his face down so their lips met.

It was like the first time, only better, because now she was kissing him, and he didn't have to worry about doing it right, or making her enjoy it, and there wasn't anybody watching, or coming to interrupt, and the fireworks were still there. Her lips were soft against his, and they tasted like bubblegum. He pressed his face harder against hers, shoving their lips together, and she smiled against his mouth.

Her hand grabbed his and pulled it down her back, down down- He stopped, pulling away and gasping.

"No." He panted, breathing heavily. "No. You're not real. This isn't- Sabrina wouldn't-"

"What are you talking about, nerfknees?" Sabrina said, brow furrowing, a slight smile on her face. "Of course I'm real."

"Then why are you doing this?" Puck asked. "You've never acted like this before. Never eve _hinted_-"

"That I liked you?" Sabrina snorted. "Of course I have. You're just oblivious. And I knew you felt the same way, and I was tired of waiting for you to make a move. Plus, I mean, we could die, you know? So why not now?" She stepped forward again, wrapping her arms around him. "So shut up and kiss me, dumbell."

"No." Puck said. "No. This is the next room. It has to be. First fears, then some tests, then our treasures, now what we want most. You're what I want most, so it makes sense. But it can't be-"

Sabrina interrupted him by pressing her lips against his, ending his train of thought abruptly. How did she know how to kiss like that?

For a few seconds he kissed her back, before breaking away again. "Stop it." He said. "I need to think."

"You think too much." Sabrina muttered into his chest. Then she looked up at him. "Do I make it hard for you to think?"

He made the mistake of looking down at her. The delight in her face was so absolutely adorable that he had to nod, and then she grinned, pressing her lips against his neck. He shuddered, almost forgetting why he didn't want her to do that.

"Does that make it hard for you to think, too?" She asked, kissing higher, on his jawline.

He nodded, his breaths getting shallow and his arms wrapping back around Sabrina He tilted his head down, and his lips found hers.

"See?" Sabrina muttered, breaking for air. "Isn't this better than thinking?"

For a second, Puck remembered that he had something he was supposed to be doing, but there in front of him was a beautiful Sabrina, ready and waiting to be kissed for as long as it took before there was an interruption, and he forgot, nodding in agreement with whatever she'd said.

* * *

Bella was met with her parents when she entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, staring.

"We've come to take you away." Her mother said, opening her arms. "We've had enough of this war, the both of us, and we're leaving. We'd like to take you with us, to someplace normal, where we can start a new life, with no monsters or wars."

Bella was sorely tempted, but she held back cautiously.

"Please?" Her father asked, half begging. "I know we've been horrible parents, Bella, but I'd like to try again, if you'll let me. I know I can do better, if you give me a chance. I can be the father you deserve."

"But..." Bella trailed off. "What about my friends?"

"I know, sweetheart." Bella's mother said, twitching her hands in a 'come here and let me hug you' gesture. "But it's just too dangerous. I'm sure you can keep in touch with them all. We'll even buy you a cell phone. And, after they settle things here, you can always come back to visit."

Bella hesitated for three more seconds before giving in and running to her mother's open arms.

* * *

Daphne saw a battle. The last door led outside, and the Scarlet Hand and the Emerald Foot were fighting in the starlight outside. She didn't know why or where they'd come from, but she didn't care. This was just too much. So she screamed, and the plants cried with her, exploding out of the ground and growing over everyone, not suffocating them, but holding them still, stuck in place.

She walked among them, shaking her head. This war was so _stupid_. If only she could make them understand...

Maybe she could.

She spent the next who knows how long going around, talking to people. She didn't remember what she said, but she knew they listened. Today she had some beautiful power to make people hear her and understand, and she was making headway. The Everafters were listening, and she was making peace. She was doing it all by herself, without her parents or Sabrina or Granny or Puck or Art or Tim or anyone to save her.

It was dark by the time everyone had agreed to stop fighting, and she'd convinced the plants to let them go. And she watched them talking to each other like they'd been friends forever, a huge sense of peace in her heart.

Her family came up to her after a few minutes, and hugged her, all of them at once.

"You're a hero, Daphne." Veronica said, smiling.

"I'm so proud of you." Henry said. "Now that it's peaceful here, we can talk about whether or not we stay permanently."

But it was Sabrina's response that really made Daphne's day: she came face to face with her and said, "Well, I guess you don't need me to take care of you after all."

* * *

Red found herself in a room full of small animals, puppies and kittens and rabbits and lizards and birds and more, all running around and playing with each other, and she gasped, eyes widening.

She ran from pen to pen, looking at all the animals, torn between which to spend time with first, and at each cage she saw a sign that said _Free to good home_.

She whimpered with joy, a smile growing on her face as a puppy came up and licked her hand.

* * *

Marcus gasped, staring at the vast trove of magic on the other side of he door. It was even greater than what had been in the Grimms' trove before they'd spread it out, three times the size of what was left in the room that used to be Puck's, where he and his family and friends were living. He couldn't believe the Scarlet Hand just left this stuff sitting here!

And if he took some, would it be such a problem? After all, if he had it, then they couldn't use it against them.

* * *

Renee gasped as the door shut and the lights came on, revealing huge piles of treasures. She grinned, running to it- this must be where they stored things they stole. And if they stole it in the first place, it wasn't really so bad if she took some back, was it?

* * *

Jonas blinked, seeing a weapons room through the door. "I guess that makes sense." He muttered. "They store swords in the weapons room."

Sabrina nodded and called, "All right everyone, spread out and look for a sword with a blue or a green stone on the end, or a wooden sword!"

Jonas nodded and headed off to a dark corner. While he was rummaging around, he found a suit of armor with some interesting designs on it. Above it was a sign that read _Invincibility Armor- While worn, the bearer cannot be harmed_. Jonas gasped and touched it, feeling the tingle of magic. He pulled it off the rack, surprised at the lightness.

He couldn't resist, and he pulled it on, grinning. Finally, he was safe. Nobody could ever harm him again.

* * *

Will waked into the room and saw a car.

Not just any car, though. A bright green two-door convertible sports car with black striping, its paint gleaming. It was the car he had wanted since he knew what cars were, sleek and shining and feral, the kind of car that would explode with power the second the gas pedal was pressed.

He walked around it, not believing his eyes. _The_ car. He touched it gingerly. It was real. He opened the door. Inside, on the driver's seat, was a set of keys, shining as brightly as the car itself.

He slipped inside, clicking the keys together as he sat down. He slid them into the ignition and turned them, grinning as the car started with a roar. He pulled it into gear, and he was off, in heaven.

* * *

Wendell stepped out onto a stage, and the others slipped around him, to the floor of the house. As soon as the others left the stage, a spotlight switched on a few feet away to a pedestal where the most beautiful harmonica Wendell had ever seen stood.

He stepped forward to the pedestal and picked up the harmonica. He put it to his lips and blew tentatively. It sounded gorgeous, echoing in the vast space. He began playing a song, and as he played, he was joined by other instruments from an unknown source.

But at one point they all fell away, and he was playing alone, and it was beautiful. He knew it was as he played, and as he finished, panting a little.

The room exploded into applause, and he saw the silhouettes of people rising, giving him a standing ovation, and heard the chant '_en-core! En-core! En-core!'_

He grinned and put the harmonica back to his lips.

* * *

Peaseblossom saw her husband (well, ex-husband, really) inside the room.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "This is another joke, isn't it? Another trick? Like the first room? Get out of here! Go! I don't want this!"

"No, sweetheart." He said, stepping forward a little. "I'm here for you. For real. What you said... It really got to me, and I want to be here for you. For our baby, if you decide to have it."

Peaseblossom sobbed, stepping away from him. "No, I don't believe you. Why would you?"

"Because I love you, Pease." He said. "And when you left, I realized that. You're more important to me than anything in the world, and I want to make you happy, no matter what."

"Even if it means leaving the Scarlet Hand and your family and everything?" Peaseblossom whispered, looking up at him, allowing a little hope to sneak into her voice.

"Even then." He said, and they embraced.

* * *

Art's room was full of medicines. A whole wall of them, all over everything, with neat little labels over them all. He and the others wandered around for a good bit, staring at them all, waiting for the test. Maybe there wasn't one? Maybe this was just the first of the storage rooms?

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Daphne calling "Art? I think I found something you might want."

He headed over to where Daphne stood and saw a small jar labeled 'Muscle Regeneration', and reached out to touch it.

"I thought... your..." Daphne reached out and ran a hand over Art's misshapen torso, from the huge bulging muscles on the one side to the shriveled other side. "I mean, I'm fine if you want to stay this way, but... I thought you might want to be back to the way you were, you know?"

Art nodded, popped the cork off the bottle, and downed it, feeling the tingle as his chest reshaped itself. He was whole again.

* * *

Mustardseed saw peace. In the next room was a land where people were getting along properly, not arguing with each other, even though they were different species, and it was big, beautiful and green.

"Welcome." A man said to him, smiling. "We've been waiting for you."

"Me?" Mustardseed said, looking around at his companions to make sure the man was talking to him. "Why?"

The man smiled. "We have everything we need here, except a leader. You're the one for the job. I can tell."

"But everything's perfect here." Mustardseed protested, gesturing around at the village and fields. "Why should you need a leader?"

"To make sure things stay this way." The man said. "Now come, we have room set up for you and your friends already."

Mustardseed didn't even hesitate, didn't question, just stepped forward into the new land, the one waiting for him.

* * *

Annie didn't pay attention to what else was in the room, or what anyone other than she did, because right in front of her was the most beautiful black acoustic guitar she'd ever seen, with mother of pearl swirls and designs running down the sides, all of it shining in front of her. She couldn't resist picking it up and playing a chord with the pick she found next to it. She grinned. Then sat down to play more. After all, the others would get her when it was time to go, right?

* * *

"Sabrina?" Veronica's voice came, and Sabrina, who had been engulfed in blackness, moaned a bit.

"I think she's coming to!" A voice said. It sounded like Puck.

Sabrina opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital bed. "What happened?" She asked. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, sweetie." Veronica said. "You've been here for a few weeks. Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Sabrina said. "Last thing I remember I was in the Fay stronghold, looking for my sword..."

"What are you talking about?" Veronica asked, looking bewildered. "Fay? Sword? What does a ten-year-old need with a sword?"

"Ten?" Sabrina asked. "But I'm... I'm fourteen."

"You must have had quite a hallucination while you were out." Veronica said, smiling a bit, sadly. "The doctors said that might happen, what with all your brain activity while you were out."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sabrina protested.

"You were in an accident, sweetie." Veronica said. "You hit your head, and you've been in a coma."

"But it seemed so..." Sabrina rubbed her head. "What about Puck? And Granny? And Uncle Jake? Are you telling me I made all that up?"

Veronica nodded sadly. "I'm afraid you must have, sweetie. You don't have an uncle, and your grandmothers are both dead."

"Are you all right?" The almost-Puck voice said, and Sabrina looked up. "I was worried about you."

She gasped, staring. "But... you were there. You're Puck."

"I'm Rob." The boy said. "From your class? We talked a couple times, remember? I was there when you were in the accident."

"I don't believe this." Sabrina said, shaking her head. "I was in that room, with the tests. This must just be another one. Another thing to stop me. Because it would be so easy, wouldn't it?" She laughed a little. "If it was all a dream?"

Because she saw it. She saw it all, what it would be like if she stayed put: she'd go to school and be normal, and make friends with the boy who saved her. They'd grow up together as friends, and eventually, when she was fourteen here, or maybe older, she and this cleaner, nicer Puck would decide that they loved each other, and she would be normal and safe for her whole life. Just like she'd wanted.

And it was tempting. But there'd be no Granny, and none of her other friends, all the wonderful friends she'd made in Ferryport Landing.

"Of course this is real, sweetheart." Veronica said. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Sabrina shook her head. "No. I can't live this."

"But Sabrina-" The not-Puck protested.

Sabrina laughed. "No! You're not Puck. Puck isn't this nice. And I don't think I'd like him if he was, even if I thought I wanted it."

"Sabrina-"

There was a beeping, and she stood up.

"Sabrina, you aren't supposed to stand yet, it's not safe!"

A few doctors rushed in, one holding a needle.

She stared at them defiantly, walking forward as if they weren't there. "And are you here if I don't believe in you? I bet you aren't. I bet I can just walk right through you."

"She's having a breakdown, miss, this often happens when they first wake up." One of the doctors reassured Veronica.

"Go ahead." Sabrina said. "Stick me." _I'm going to look really stupid if this is actually real_. She thought to herself. "It won't work."

The needle entered her skin, and she felt the prick, and she saw everything moving around her, then going black, but she was still conscious, and she knew she was. She walked through the soundless black in a straight line, heading for the door she knew was there. She felt the ghost of it as she went, though she also half-felt something else, but she ignored that and turned the handle, wrenching the door open. As she did so, she was doused with light.


	104. Living Labrynth

**AN~ If anyone *coughEpiphanyonToastcough* were to draw the footprints in the maze in this chapter, that would be really awesome. I have a confession to make: I sat on this chapter. For several days. I wrote almost all of it on Sunday. Feel free to come after me with torches and pitchforks, but I promise to never do it again if you don't. There also may possibly be something vaguely resembling romance down below. :)**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Kathie. Because. But does ANYONE mind if I steal their pranks? They were all pretty good.**

New QotD: You know how griffons are combinations of eagles and lions? Make an animal like that, a combination of two others. Then tell me what it's magical powers would be and what you'd do if you had one (or two. Or a farm/herd/pack of them!).

**_32davenport (ch 1): Well, you can do that. I faked it, but that was it._**

**_GrimmSabrina: _I think someone else said that first. (Which means both those are not going to win, unfortunately). But yeah, to escape the room, you have to get the door open, which is kind of difficult when you're in the middle of your greatest fantasy.**

**_anon #2: _Thanks a lot! :D**

**_Delaney:_ Oh well. And of course I wrote another chapter!**

**_silverwombat: _Thanks! And if that was the only typo, we're in good shape! :)**

**_Agd:_ I searched the letters A G D under authors, then narrowed the search down to people who'd written for Sisters Grimm, and you were the only one that fit. You can normally do a 'forgot your password' thing somewhere, can't you? Puck's problem was that he WANTED it to be real so bad that he decided he didn't care. Sabrina... I always thought what she wanted most was a second chance at childhood, 'cause she hurt so much and lost so much when her parents disappeared. And in the books she never wants magic to be real, you know? (also another makeout scene would be redundant and boring and slightly gross).**

**_Kathie: _Well, there was that part about ten chapters ago, I think. And that answer would have been great to have then, because you're right, he wouldn't let her get away with winning. Also: SEE? This is why I made Puck good at math! He HAS to be, with pranks like that! Nobody who doesn't study physics should be able to make that work just right. Thank you!/You're welcome!**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _First off, Will is Sabrina's distant cousin on the opposite side of the Grimm tree (Wilhelm and Jakob). Second: Yeah. Because Puck was prepared for this and Sabrina wasn't but had too much to lose if she got what she wanted. Your ideas were... interesting. All of them.**

**_Ninjabunny: _Well, not to make out with her, but to have her like him back.**

**_anon #1: _Thanks! I usually try to update on Fridays, though this arc I've had planned for a while, and it's been coming easier because of that. So maybe Thursday if you're lucky.**

* * *

Puck, who had been swaying to 'The Long and Winding Road' with Sabrina, hands on her hips and his lips on hers, suddenly found himself with his arms wrapped around nothing, standing in an empty room with twelve other very confused people and Sabrina across the room from him, not looking very kissed at all.

He sat down on the floor with a thump, running his hands through his hair. "It _was_ the next room." He muttered, his face growing red. Of _course_ Sabrina would never do that! Who was he kidding?

"Guys." Sabrina said impatiently. "We have to get going."

Puck looked around. Everyone else was acting similarly to him, staring at nothing, or wandering around aimlessly, looking dazed. Some of them had on their faces the strangest sense of loss. He sighed and stood up. She was right. They had to keep moving.

"But..." Renee trailed off. "But I want it back..."

"I know." Mustardseed told his girlfriend, pulling her into his arms. "But it's a lie. You know that." Puck felt a pang of jealousy. _Mustardseed_ got the girl he wanted.

"I'd never have starved again." Renee whispered. "Or been cold or wanted anything..."

"I know." Mustardseed soothed. "But I'll keep you safe, I promise."

"All right." Renee agreed, and everyone, somehow encouraged by that, followed Sabrina through the door.

The other side was obviously a maze, a long corridor that stretched away from them, walls high above their heads, an endless expanse of featureless gray that reminded Sabrina and Puck incredibly of the prison that, unbeknownst to them, was directly below their feet. Sabrina shuddered.

"I'd bet you anything this isn't a normal maze." Peaseblossom said, her voice echoing strangely off the walls. "Mab's too crafty for that."

"So we don't split up, then?" Wendell asked.

Puck shook his head. "Definitely not. In fact, I don't think we should move from this spot 'til we have a way to mark where we've been."

"I can maybe..." Daphne trailed off, lifting her feet up and looking under them a few times until something green started to appear below. "Yeah." She grinned. "I can grow the floor into plants. I don't know what this stuff is, but it's alive."

Sabrina shuddered. "That's creepy. Let's go."

They walked forward slowly, Bella in front, keeping one hand on the wall. Sabrina and Puck were together, bringing up the rear. Nobody spoke much, because their voices carried strangely, and it was uncomfortable. But Puck needed to ask Sabrina something, so he trailed back a little and asked, "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Sabrina asked, trailing her own fingers against the wall.

"Get out of the room." Puck said, remembering his fantasy and coloring a little. Since when did he blush? "I... what I wanted... I'd have been perfectly happy to never leave. How did you?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I lost too much, I guess. I mean, I got what I wanted, but it wasn't really what I wanted, 'cause I had to give up too much stuff that I care about too much."

"What-" Puck stopped himself. He couldn't ask that. What if she asked back?

"Was it?" Sabrina finished, smiling a bit. "I got to go back. To when I was a kid. Before my parents disappeared and I went to the orphanage and was angry and everything. It was all a dream, and I woke up to home. But I still felt like it was real, and I couldn't take losing Granny and Uncle Jake and Bella and Red."

"Oh." Puck said, dejected. She didn't miss him? And obviously she didn't want him the way he wanted her, but still, he'd hoped a bit...

Sabrina, rounding the corner ahead of him, stuck her head back around to look at him and said, "You were there, you know. But you were clean. And nice." She grinned. "I think that's what convinced me it was a fantasy."

"Oh." Puck grinned, hurrying after her. Funny how that word could mean something so different depending on how he said it.

They walked in tense silence again, searching for any sign of change, despite the fact that there was no movement, no noise, other than what they made themselves.

"Oh no." Bella said after another long stretch of walking.

"What?" Daphne asked, as everyone crowded forward to see what the problem was.

Bella pointed to the ground, where they could see plants growing in the shape of footprints, exactly the size of Daphne's sneakers.

"Maybe you made a mistake." Art suggested. "Want me to lead for a while?"

Bella nodded and squeezed against the wall so that Art could pass. He stuck his right hand on the wall instead of his left, and they were off again.

Bella waited until Wendell walked past her to start up again, and Puck could just make out what they were saying. He almost felt bad about eavesdropping, but then he shook it off. Stupid puberty was making him have morals. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to tell anybody anything (they could probably all hear it anyway), and there was nothing better to do.

"Hey, umm..." Bella trailed off. "How've you been, Wendell?"

"Normal." Wendell said. "I missed you. What do you want?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you... you know... wanted to maybe... um... get back together?" Bella said hesitantly, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the featureless walls instead of at Wendell.

Wendell sighed and turned to Bella. "Look." He said. "I like you. I really do. A lot more than I want to say, and... a lot more than I think you like me." He paused. "After you broke up with me, I had a lot of time to think, and I've decided... Well, look, Bella. I want to be with you. But I want you to want me for me, and right now I think you're just using me because Marcus doesn't want you. So... If you decide that you want me most, then come talk, all right? But I deserve more than to be a backup plan."

"Okay." Bella nodded, and Puck, squinting at her, though he might have seen her eyes get watery. "Thanks for being honest with me." She said, and dropped back again.

Puck snickered, because she'd dropped back straight to Marcus. Marcus didn't seem to have heard the other conversation, and Puck wondered for the umpteenth time whether fairies had better hearing than normal people. He'd never been able to figure that out.

She took a deep breath, and Puck heard her mutter, "Well, I might as well get this over with."

"Huh?" Marcus asked.

Bella turned to Marcus, and, taking a deep breath, asked, "Do you like me?"

Marcus blinked, then said, blank-faced, "I like Annie."

"I know." Bella said. "But you can like two people at once, you know? And I was wondering if there was any chance..."

Marcus shook his head. "Sorry. You're really nice and everything, but you're not my type."

"And what is your type?" Bella asked.

"Crazier." Marcus said immediately. "Less appearances focused, and more bookish."

Bella asked, "And I don't suppose that if I started to act like that, you'd...?"

Marcus shook his head. "'Cause another thing I like is that she's genuine. And if you faked it for me, it wouldn't be you I'd be liking, it'd be an act."

"Thought so." Bella said, smiling sadly. "Oh well. Thanks. I hope you and she are happy together."

Marcus grinned, blushing. "Well, if I can ever get up the courage to ask her."

Bella smiled that sad smile again. "Trust me, I have a feeling it'll all work out."

"I hope so." Marcus said as Bella slowed down again, speeding up when she was even with Sabrina.

"What's up?" Sabrina asked, seeing the look on Bella's face.

Yup. Puck decided. Definitely fairies have better hearing.

Bella explained the whole situation to Sabrina and finished, "And I think I screwed everything up, Sabrina! What do I do now?"

"You didn't." Sabrina said. "You were doing the right thing, breaking up with Wendell. It's better than cheating on him. But he made a smart choice, too. If you're not both putting everything into the relationship, neither of you are going to be happy with it. Maybe now that you know Marcus doesn't like you, you can start to get over him."

"But what if I don't?" Bella asked. "What if I like them both forever and I can never have either of them, 'cause I'm stupid and can't stick with one guy?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I can't really answer that. I've got less experience with relationships than you, remember." Puck smiled at that a little, thinking wistfully, _I could change that_. Sabrina continued, "But I think it'll work out. We're just fourteen, remember. You've got plenty of time for your feelings to change."

"I know." Bella said. "But it _feels_ like it won't."

Sabrina shrugged again. "I don't know what to tell you. It sucks, but there's not much I can do about it."

"Just talking with me helps." Bella assured her. "But remind me to never come to you when I need sympathy."

Sabrina nodded. "I don't do sympathy well. Just advice. But if you gave me instructions I might be able to do sympathy."

Bella laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Or, like, write me a notecard that says what to do."

"But I can't do that!" Bella protested. "It's case-specific!"

Sabrina shrugged. "Then I'm hopeless. I want a formula. This is what you do to make someone feel better. End."

"Well, what you did actually helped." Bella grinned. "Next time I might want a hug or something, though."

Puck shuddered. Hugs. Ew. Sabrina was going to respond to Bella again, but then Art stopped, and there was a pileup at the front of the line.

"What now?" Puck asked.

"I don't believe it!" Art said. "We've circled around again! How are we doing this?"

"Maybe there's hidden entrances." Renee suggested. "Like ways through that we don't see, and we circle back through them."

"I think we need Sabrina again." Jonas said. "To watch the past. We'll go the way Mab did."

"We need to get back to the start to do that." Daphne pointed out.

Sabrina groaned. "Do I really have to? It's _hard_."

"It's the only way." Bella said. "Otherwise we'll probably be wandering around here forever."

"Fine." Sabrina sighed. "Let's go back to the beginning. If we can find it."

Finding the beginning proved to be difficult but not impossible, and once they got back, Sabrina squinted at something nobody else could see, and began following it, the others following her.

She stopped after a bit and said, "That's funny."

"What's funny?" Red asked.

"She goes in two directions here." Sabrina said. "Left and straight. But... left she has the swords, and straight she doesn't. I guess the maze isn't an in-and-out, it's the last room, and she hides stuff here."

"Imagine everything we could find here." Marcus said wistfully. "I bet she's got all sorts of weapons we could use."

"No magic for you." Annie scolded. "You know how you get around it."

"I know." Marcus said. "I'm just saying."

"So do we split up and look for it now or what?" Daphne asked.

"Splitting up is probably a really bad idea." Peaseblossom warned. "We can't be sure we'll be in the same place when we get back."

"I shouldn't go there if there's magic, though." Marcus said. "Annie's right. When I get around it, I get... I don't like who I am with it."

"I'll stay, too." Annie offered. "Just in case we get split up."

"Maybe a few more of us should stay?" Red suggested. "I don't really want to go in there. And Sabrina can always follow herself back anyway, can't she?"

"Point." Peaseblossom conceded. "All right. I want to go, though. There's some stuff of mine I think Mab might have taken."

They divided up, only about five of them going in through the path Mab took with the swords. The path led them to a small alcove with nothing in it but the swords. Sabrina and Puck grabbed them.

"Dangit." Peaseblossom said. "I was hoping she'd stashed my stuff here."

"She probably did." Sabrina said, turning around to head back. "I bet the maze is just full of little rooms like this she shoves stuff in."

"Do you want to go look for your stuff, too?" Puck asked, following her.

Peaseblossom shook her head. "I don't need it that bad. And we're cutting this close as it is. I'll come back another time or something."

"I wonder how she finds all this stuff." Sabrina mused. "After she's hidden it all."

Peasblossom shrugged. "She built it. She probably has a map or something."

"Probably." Sabrina agreed.

"Probably what?" Daphne asked.

"Probably Mab has a map or cheat codes or something." Puck explained.

"Oh." Daphne nodded. "Yeah. I just bet she does. Takes all the fun out of it."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, but stopped halfway through to start searching for the right Mab shadow. She'd started to notice that more recent ones were brighter, which meant she ought to be looking for the most solid one. Once she found it, she started off again.

"Hey, wait up!" Jonas called, and everyone else jogged to catch up with Sabrina, who kept going singlemindedly until she reached another two-Mabs spot.

"We have to go this way." Sabrina said, squinting. "I think it's to get our treasures back. But then we come right back this way again."

Everyone ran down that hallway, though Sabrina followed more slowly to make sure that she didn't lose the shadow of Mab, and left the hall again looking much happier, Annie and Marcus holding hands, and Peaseblossom rubbing her stomach with a small smile on her face. Sabrina continued to lead the way, still staring intently at the figure no one else could see.

When they reached the big gray door on the other side, what could have been hours (maybe even days) or just long, long minutes later, after walking through several things that appeared to be solid walls but weren't, Daphne paused and said, "Uh-oh."

"What?" Red asked.

"I maybe shouldn't have left the plants there." Daphne whispered.

"Yeah." Sabrina agreed. "But it's too late now. They can clean them up if they have a problem with them."

"Besides." Annie said, smiling at the green footprints in the gray space, "They look nice there. It'd be a shame to try to get rid of them. It's so hideous here."

"I know." Peaseblossom agreed.

"Um... suggestion?" Wendell said suddenly. "About the leaving thing. Could we maybe have someone with that awesome shape-shifting power, like, check and see if there's anyone out there so I know if I have to harmonica them to a trance or anything?"

"Or you could just trance anyone other than us up now and not make us go through the extra step." Puck suggested, wrapping his arm around Wendell. "Whaddaya say, old buddy?"

Wendell unwrapped Puck's arm from around him, wrinkling his nose, and said "I'm not your buddy. But I'll do it." He pulled out his harmonica, and right before putting it to his lips, said, "Plug your ears. My control isn't that great yet."

Everyone complied, and as soon as Sabrina started to feel a bit drowsy (she hoped it was because of the music), she opened the door, peeked around it in both directions, and gestured for everyone else to follow her. Puck took the lead from there, with his map out again, and they made it outside with only one mishap, when Wendell stopped to take a particularly long breath and they heard signs of pursuit.

They made it back to the Grimm house just as dawn was breaking, and the adults apparently hadn't even noticed they were missing. Puck and Daphne grinned and high-fived each other quietly while the people who lived elsewhere waved and headed out.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and yawned. "I'm glad you two are happy. But that means you get to figure out how to explain where we got the swords from _and_ why we're all going to be exhausted tomorrow."

Puck and Daphne looked at each other and shrugged. "I'm OK with that." Puck said. "You?"

Daphne nodded. "Tomorrow, though. Whoever gets up first wakes the other one up and we talk before we eat?"

"Sounds good." Puck agreed.

They all headed to their respective bedrooms, another mission complete.


	105. What Just Happened?

**AN~ This is the chapter you've probably all been waiting for. Except that you won't like me soon.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: I just kind of want all of them. But Sunny99's Howlaspykes were pretty awesome.**

New QotD: I made a Pottermore, so I'm on a Harry Potter kick. Which house would you like to be in and why?

**_Agd: _But if you can still get into FANFICTION, then you can change your email. Chapter: You think Mab trusts Moth with things like that? Hah, you're funny... QotD: I would love that, except if you met up with a person with allergies. It'd have to be a hypoallergenic chameleon cat.**

**_Ninjabunny:_ Hmm... I'd never have guessed there'd be ninjas or bunnies in yours... XD You didn't actually respond to the chapter, you know.**

**_Wendy:_ They're like Sabrina and Daphne, the descendants of people who knew about everafters.**

**_Christine daa: _Thanks!**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _I think mazes are cool, partly BECAUSE of those things. Lol. QotD: That seemed like a bit of overkill, you know?**

**_Day Night A.K.A. Dat Girl: _I like puck stressing, but not angst, because it gets boring after a while. Have you read ALL the books? I love Gale in the first two. ****QotD: How does a racoon panda get fire breathing powers? MY name for this at the moment is NGHC.**

**_DontMesswiththePrincess: _Good thing you don't know where I live. :) Thanks!**

* * *

Unfortunately, not all the parents were unaware of their kid's nighttime wanderings. Wendell had been caught on his way back, and Hamelin and his wife had called all the other parents. By the time Sabrina, Puck, Bella, Red, and Daphne were in the kitchen, their parents had heard, and were waiting for them.

"Uh-oh." Red whispered, seeing the expressions on the adult's faces. Even Uncle Jake was giving them a stern look. Or at least his attempt at one, which wasn't particularly effective, and made the older ones want to chuckle a bit, because Sabrina could do a better quiver-inducing glare than her uncle.

"How'd you find out?" Sabrina asked, cutting to the chase. She figured being honest was less likely to get her grounded forever.

"Mrs. Hamelin called us at about five this morning and told us that her son was out with you all last night getting up to dangerous things." Henry said sternly. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really." Daphne said. "It'll probably just get us in more trouble again."

"You're already in pretty big trouble, young lady." Veronica said. "Being honest will maybe get you out of some of it."

"Actually..." Bella interrupted. "We have the right to remain silent to avoid incriminating ourselves. We also have the right to a fair trial and an attorney, but I doubt we'll get those. You didn't read off our Miranda Rights, so technically you're not allowed to arrest us."

"Except that you're all minors, knew the rules, and chose to break them." Granny said. "As children, you fall under our control first, then the government's."

"We still have the right to remain silent." Bella shrugged. "And I choose not to incriminate myself further by confirming or denying whether I left the house last night."

"You're all grounded for two weeks." Veronica said. "I don't care why you left, or that you all got back safe, we've been over this already, and you can't sneak out just because you want to! It's dangerous! I thought you'd learned your lesson last summer."

There were various groans and protests, but the adults would not be moved, and eventually the kids stopped trying and gave in.

Puck was the last one to do so, and he said, "Well, OK, but at least we got the swords back!" He held up his sword with a grin.

Sabrina groaned, and the adult's expressions darkened as the figured out where the children had been. That had been the wrong thing to say.

* * *

"Four weeks!" Sabrina complained. "Twenty-eight more days weeks of being stuck in this house all the time! Thanks a lot, Puck!"

"Hey, it's not my fault I was looking on the bright side!" Puck protested. "It was word vomit!"

"I hate you." Daphne told Puck. "It's your fault I even went, anyway. And now I'm grounded."

"Aw, come on, Marshmallow, you don't hate me." Puck cajoled.

"I hate you." Daphne said stoically. "Go away and leave me alone."

Puck sighed and put his chin in his hands. The kids were all standing on the porch, and Puck was leaning on the railing, looking out towards the woods. It was a gorgeous day.

"At least we can still go in the yard." Red pointed out.

"Yeah, well, fat lot of good that'll do us." Bella muttered.

"Maybe we can make the best of it." Red suggested.

"How?" Daphne asked.

Red shrugged. "I guess we could... umm... explore the house."

Sabrina's brow furrowed. "This isn't _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, Red. It's a pretty small house."

"Well, do you know everything that's in it?" Red asked.

Sabrina smiled crookedly. "All right, you win. But I doubt it'll take four weeks."

* * *

It didn't. It took about two. Then they were bored again, even though they'd found a great deal of exciting and useful things in the attic and basement, including some multicolored egg-shaped stones that Granny said were petrified Phoenix eggs. Sabrina harbored a fantasy that they weren't quite petrified, but she knew better.

Right about the time the kids finished rummaging through the boxes in the house, the adults got called away to discuss strategy at the Golden Egg.

"I don't think you should go." Daphne told them nervously. "I've been getting some bad images, and I think you should stay home."

"Relax, Daphne, we'll be fine." Uncle Jake said breezily, pulling on his coat.

"Okay..." Daphne said doubtfully. "But this is a bad idea."

"We'll be careful, I promise." Veronica said, kissing Daphne on the forehead as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. "Back by suppertime. I expect the table to be set and everything ready when we walk in the door."

"Not my job." Daphne said, trying to smile, but it was obvious she was still worried.

"It'll be ready." Sabrina promised.

"Good." Granny smiled. "Have a nice day, _lieblings_." She waved and headed outside.

The door closed behind her, and the kids were alone in the house. It should have been a good time to relax, maybe sneak out and go see some friends, or have some over (that was forbidden because of their grounding, though they could still make phone calls), or just sit in the sunshine and take a nap, but everyone was tense.

"Anyone else feel like this is just a bad idea?" Bella asked. "The Scarlet Hand's been attacking more and more, and they just walked out like nothing's up."

Sabrina nodded. "They're going to run into trouble somehow. You know it."

Daphne had her eyes closed and was concentrating. She opened them suddenly and snapped, "Dangit!"

"What is it?" Red asked.

"I can't see their future if I can't see them." Daphne explained. "I'm trying to figure out what's going on with them, but it's not working."

"You guys could try one of those full-on prophecies." Puck suggested. "The ones you need all three of you there for."

Sabrina shook her head. "It's not like we can pull those out of thin air, Puck."

Puck shrugged. "Try anyway?"

They did, to no avail. Sabrina and Daphne held hands with Basil, eyes closed, and thought hard about their family, but nothing happened, so they tried everything they could think of (which, albeit, wasn't much), but nothing worked.

"Told you." Sabrina sneered at Puck.

"Well, hoity-toity to you." Puck stuck his tongue out at Sabrina.

"Uh-oh." Basil said quietly.

Everyone's heads spun to look at the three-year-old boy, whose eyes were glowing gold.

"What's wrong, Base?" Daphne said, squatting down next to her brother.

"Uh-oh." He said again.

"What is it?" Sabrina asked, picking him up.

"Bad." Basil said, and his eyes grew wide, shining that golden glow on Sabrina's face.

"Bad what, Basil?" Sabrina asked. "You need to tell us. Now."

"Mommy an' Daddy." Basil whimpered, his eyes fading as he looked at Sabrina.

"No, Basil, you need to hold it!" Sabrina said harshly. "Keep looking at Mommy and Daddy. Tell me what you see, though, OK?"

Basil nodded, and stared at nothing. "Dere's pe-pull." He said, his eyes brightening. "Mean pe-pull. Udder Daddy's dere."

"Other Daddy?" Daphne asked, stricken. "Mirror?"

"Basil, are they OK?" Sabrina asked, staring intently at her brother. "What are they doing? Can you tell me what they're doing, buddy?"

Basil opened his mouth, concentrating, but as he began to speak, his eyes faded, until he was left with his regular green eyes looking into Sabrina's blue ones, both sets full of fear.

"Dey gonna be OK?" Basil asked his sister, his mouth quivering.

Sabrina suppressed her very strong desire to shake Basil until he told her what she needed to know and took a deep breath. "I don't know, Base." She said, hugging him tighter. "I just don't know."

Daphne had pulled out her sword and called into the gem for any of the adults, but she wasn't getting a response. She was shouting now, calling for her parents, demanding they answer her.

"Maybe they'll make it out OK." Red suggested tentatively. "They're all brave and strong and smart. They can fight. Maybe they'll be all right."

"Maybe." Bella whispered, looking at Sabrina worriedly. She took Basil out of her friend's hands, and Sabrina collapsed onto the couch, her head in her hands.

"I can't..." Sabrina whispered. "I can't..."

"Can't what?" Puck asked, sitting down next to her.

"Can't go through this again." She finished, her voice barely audible, even to him.

Daphne threw her sword across the room, where it crashed into a pile of books and sent them flying into the end table. Thankfully, it was solid, and there was nothing there but more books, so she didn't do any permanent damage. It made a loud noise, though, and that's what she'd wanted. "Dammit!" She shouted.

"Whoa, language, Marshmallow." Puck said.

"I don't care!" Daphne snapped, pacing. "We have to go after them."

"We should wait." Bella said, trying to put Basil on the floor. He resisted, clinging to her and whimpering. She continued, "At least until tonight. Give them time to work their way through."

Daphne stood glaring at Bella for a minute, but looking at her brother, who turned his big-eyed worried face to her, she relaxed a little and said, "Fine. But if they're not back by nightfall, I'm going after them."

Sabrina still hadn't moved. Puck was getting worried. This wasn't like her, this complete lack of action or passion. He was a bit afraid she was going into shock, just sitting there and occasionally saying, "I can't do it again."

"Grimm." He said. "Snap out of it."

Sabrina ignored him, her face still buried in her hands. Puck looked at the others desperately.

Red stepped up, knelt by the older girl, and pulled her head up out of her hands, saying, "Sabrina. Look at me."

Sabrina looked up at the little girl in front of her, biting her lip. Her expression scared Bella and Puck. It would have scared Daphne, too, if she'd seen it. But Red ignored the look on Sabrina's face.

"I know." She said. "We all do, you know."

Sabrina laughed a little and shook her head.

"We do." Red said. "We've all lost our families, too. I don't want to lose Mamma Briar and Daddy Jake any more than you want to lose your parents again. But you can't fall apart. We need you to be strong. Basil needs you to be strong."

Sabrina looked at her little brother, then back at Red. The younger girl looked back at her, gaze worried but steady.

Sabrina took a deep breath, then nodded. "All right." She said. "Let's get to it."

Puck grinned and sighed in relief. It just wouldn't be right if they were going to go out and do something stupid and risky without Sabrina leading the way.

They spent a good portion of the day planning, though they also made sure to do their chores, holding on to the faint hope that the adults would come home. It was decided that if the parents didn't come back, the kids would leave in the morning, at dawn. They would take as many weapons as they could find through the day, magical and otherwise, and if the adults weren't home by dinner, they'd contact anyone else who might be available to help to see if they at least knew what was happening, even if they didn't want to come help. Bella would stay home with Basil.

"The shield around the house will keep you safe." Sabrina promised. "Nobody- and no magic- can get in who wants to hurt someone inside, and as long as something's alive inside the barrier, you'll be fine. It doesn't work if you all go inside Puck's room, though. Someone has to stay out here."

"All right." Bella nodded. "As long as they don't bring a cannon or something."

Sabrina smiled. "The house has its own protection against stuff like that."

"We should talk to the kids in there." Daphne said suddenly. "All their parents are missing, too. They might want to go after them. And at the very least they should know something's up."

Sabrina nodded. "Take Basil with you. He can play with the little kids."

Daphne nodded and walked off.

Once she'd seen her sister heft Basil onto her hip and walk off to what used to be Puck's room, Sabrina turned to Bella and, lowering her voice, said, "If we... don't come back... You'll be all right, right? You can set up a garden in with the kids, grow yourself some food. It's always summer there, and we have seeds someplace. As long as some of you are in the house all the time, you can do it. All right?"

Bella nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Promise you'll take care of Basil?" Sabrina asked.

"Like he was my own brother." Bella says.

"Thanks." Sabrina said. "And... listen, if we don't come back, Basil's gonna have to stay in the house all the time, 'cause he might be the only Grimm left, and he needs to stay in the town to keep the Barrier up, and Puck's old room isn't inside the Barrier, exactly."

Bella nodded. "I've got it. Just... come back, all right?"

"I'll try." Sabrina said. "Weird that last night the most important thing we talked about was boys, isn't it?"

Bella nodded. "And I'm not done talking to you about them, so you better be careful."

"All right." Sabrina grinned. "I promise."

* * *

Dinner had sat on the table for an hour, growing cold, before the kids gave up waiting and ate anyway. Nobody had cleared the adult's plates away, though Bella had covered them. Daphne had gone back to talk with the other kids about strategy, taking Basil and Red with her. And Sabrina sat on the porch roof, thinking, preparing herself for the events of the next day.

"Boo."

She turned to see Puck, his head poking out the window. "Hey." She said.

"What are you doing?" He asked, climbing out the window to join her.

"Just thinking." Sabrina shrugged. "Tomorrow's a big day."

"Yeah." Puck agreed.

Sabrina looked over at him an snickered a bit. "It's a good thing I didn't want to be alone." She said. "You join me out here half the time."

Normally, Puck would have said something about how he'd have liked it better if his being there annoyed her, but tonight was different, so he said nothing.

"Did you ever think," Sabrina said suddenly, "What would happen if you died?"

"Yeah." Puck said. "Made a will and everything. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself."

Sabrina blinked at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Puck responded. "What? Is that weird?"

"Just a bit." Sabrina said. "Most people don't make a will until they get old."

"I am old." Puck said. "Four thousand years old."

"Right." Sabrina said. "Forgot about that." They were silent for a minute, then she asked, "So what's on your will?"

"Nothing important." Puck shrugged. "I want everything I own to go in a museum of awesomeness. But you probably don't want to hear about that."

"No."

"Why do you ask?" Puck asked. "If I think about dying?"

Sabrina shrugged. "'Cause we could. Tomorrow. It's weird."

"A bit." Puck agreed. "We don't normally get time beforehand to prepare, do we? Normally it's just _bam_! We're being attacked. Not 'oh, let's plan this battle out."

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "It makes you think, you know? About whether your life is what you wanted it to be or not. If you did what you should have. If there's stuff you should fix. Mistakes you wish you hadn't made. People you should apologize to. Things you never got to do."

"Like what?" Puck asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

Sabrina could never say what made her do it, if it was the heat of the moment, or the fact that Puck hadn't cracked a nasty joke, or if it was just pre-battle jitters and the fact that she didn't want to die without doing this. But the fact was that she closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed him on the lips.

Of course, about halfway through the kiss, she realized what she was doing and shoved herself backward, panting. Eyes wide, she scrambled backwards on her elbows to the window and clambered through it in a rush, slamming it shut behind her.

Once inside, she leaned against the wall, hand over her mouth, breathing heavily with wide eyes. What had she been _thinking_? What was _Puck_ thinking? She couldn't know that on the other side of that wall, Puck stood, too, looking up at the night sky and wondering the same things she was.


	106. Domo Arrigato, Mr Roboto

**AN~ Bit short this time, guys. But cliffy. Had to be done. Yup.  
**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Velika Silvertongue, our Grithercluff.  
**

New QotD: What would YOU do for the last book? Other than buy it. Gimme a crazy scenario about how far you would go to get_ The Council of Mirrors_.

**_blaxon:_Well, to be fair, this also replaces books seven and eight. Wait. You HAVE book nine? What?**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ That isn't normal. Have you talked to someone about that? It sounds like it could be an anxiety issue. But thank you! QotD: Holy... wow. Your housemates might not like you too much if you did that.**

**_Agd:_They all just had a bad feeling. Like Daphne was catching. Even if she hadn't said anything, they'd have been worried. And no, actually. It was about a five-chapter delay on the kiss. It'll probably be more on them getting together, though.**

**_DayNight:_This was another of those chapters that has been waiting to be written for a long time now, so it came easy. :) I'm glad it made you happy. Yeah, Sabrina was not herself because she was all thinking about death and serious stuff like that. I'm not going to go into a whole big Puckabrina subplot, I promise. This chapter is all action. LAST QotD: Like the web server firefoxes? THIS QotD: Ravenclaw is pretty awesome. :)**

**_NinjaBunny:_Thanks for the review!**

**_Christine daa: _How is that a cliffy? They kissed, then Sabrina ran away, then they sat there thinking.**

* * *

The next morning, Sabrina woke with a groan, remembering the previous night. _Now_ what was she supposed to do? How could she look at Puck after last night? After much deliberation, during which she got herself somewhat clean and dressed for battle in a tank top with Puck's hoodie (that had led to about fifteen minutes' more deliberation) and a pair of leggings (she found she could move best in them) with two thick black belts thrown on top for modesty's sake, her sword and some other things she thought might come in useful tucked into them, she headed downstairs, having reached the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to just pretend it had never happened and hope she got knocked into a three month coma before she had to talk to Puck again.

Downstairs, almost everyone was already there. Along with several of her friends who hadn't been at the Golden Egg during the catastrophe and her housemates there were several of the kids who lived in Puck's old room. She only knew a few of their names, though she'd had a class with two of the girls and gotten to know them well enough, Eve and Kaytee. They were both hyper, happy, and kind of random, and nothing like her, though they did remind her of Daphne a bit. Because she was afraid to find someone she knew well enough that they might guess something had happened the night before, she went over to those two and joined them in buttering toast.

"Hi." Kaytee said. She was a year older than Sabrina, with long waves of light auburn hair, blueish gray eyes set in a pale face, and a tall body with more curves than Sabrina had, though not too many. "You nervous?"

Sabrina snorted. "If you're not, then that'll make me _more_ worried."

Eve snickered, swallowed a bite of toast, and said, "I'm more than nervous. I think I'm going to pee my pants."

"Better do that before we go." Kaytee advised. "There won't be a bathroom on the battlefield."

"That's why I said pee my pants, ya dumbo." Eve rolled her eyes and took a big bite of toast.

"Ew." Kaytee said, wrinkling her nose.

Sabrina snickered. She liked Kaytee. She was good with swords, and they'd dueled a lot during the past few months.

"Sabrina!" Daphne's voice filtered through the general mutterings of the crowd in the kitchen to Sabrina's ears.

"Gotta go." Sabrina said, taking her toast and working her way through the kids, some looking excited and some terrified, to her sister, waving at the two girls as she left.

"Wassup?" She asked, reaching her sister and Red, who were holed up on the counter with the cereal.

"I just wanted to see you beforehand." Daphne shrugged. "Just in case, you know?"

Sabrina half smiled, sadly. "Yeah. Today's a big day, isn't it?"

Daphne nodded. "And, hey. I wanted to say thanks. For letting me come."

Sabrina's smile grew a little smaller and less depressed. "Well, it's only fair. I mean, when I was your age, I was trying to take care of you all on my own. And you've proved you're plenty capable. So it'd be kind of unfair for me to make you stay here."

"Yeah, but I bet you wanted to." Daphne said.

"Oh yeah." Sabrina said, eyes widening. "I'm terrified to let you out of this house. But I guess I've learned that you can't protect people forever. Or something else sappy like that."

Daphne snickered. "Is now the time I say that I understand that you've just been trying to protect me for the past forever, and no matter how infuriating you got, I know you had my best interests at heart, and I'm OK with that?"

"I think so. And then we hug or something." Sabrina said. "But I've never been too good at that feelings stuff, you know? So I might be wrong. We can skip it, just in case."

Daphne grinned and hugged her anyway. Sabrina smiled, wrapping her arms around her sister in return, plucking a loose feather out of her hair.

"You're molting." She muttered.

Daphne pulled back, making a face. "Great." She muttered. "Also, way to ruin the moment."

Sabrina shrugged. "It's what I do best."

Red had been watching the whole scene and was now smiling a little while chewing the last of her Kix. Once she swallowed, she said, "You two are really cute."

Daphne grinned and returned to her own cereal, saying, "I know."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and took a bite of her now-cold toast.

"Grimm!" Puck said, appearing next to her.

Sabrina's eyes widened and she choked on her toast, her face turning scarlet. She wasn't ready for this! She'd had no time to prepare or decide how to talk to him! And she seriously hoped the girls though she was blushing because she'd choked, not because of Puck's presence, his messy golden curls less than a foot from her face, looking particularly fetching in a chestplate from who knows where, his green eyes staring into hers with concern- because she was staring back at him. She recovered herself, coughing some more, and punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" Puck complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"You scared me!" She snapped. No mention of how, of course.

"Sorry." Puck shrugged. "But hey, we should probably get this show on the road, no?"

"Oh, right." Sabrina said gloomily. "We have to lead them, don't we? I forgot."

"Yup." Puck said cheerfully. "So come on, let's go make a speech!"

"_You_ make a speech." Sabrina muttered mutinously, glaring at his back as he walked off.

Puck grinned at her, turning back. "I will." Sabrina marveled a little. Had he just forgotten the night before? How could he act so normal? She could feel herself blushing anew every time he moved.

Puck reached the place he'd been trying for and turned to Sabrina. "Can you-" He twiddled his fingers- "Pick me up a bit so everyone can see me better and I don't have to get my wings out and maybe hit someone in the face?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes, masking another blush, and concentrated on him, reversing his gravity so that he could stand on the ceiling, where everyone could see him. He began speaking before she'd even gotten him all the way up, but she was too busy concentrating on keeping him up to pay attention to what he said. It was harder than usual to reverse gravity, and she could feel a few beads of sweat on her brow. She frowned. It shouldn't be this difficult. She was well rested, she'd been practicing, she wasn't doing anything else- she felt her grip slip, and Puck almost tumbled to the floor. _Oh no._ She realized, eyes widening. She was losing it, losing gravity control! _Not today._ She thought. _I need it today_.

Puck had finished his speech, so she let him down. He grinned at her. "What did you think?" He asked.

"Good." Sabrina nodded absently. "You did good. They liked it."

Puck looked at her, hurt. "You didn't even listen, did you?"

"No, I was a bit busy keeping you from landing headfirst on the ground." Sabrina snapped.

Puck blinked. "I thought you had better control than that."

"Yeah, so did I." Sabrina said. "But it was more difficult than usual."

"Surprised you didn't just drop me." Puck said.

"Oh, believe me, it was tempting." Sabrina responded, but she blushed while saying it and lost a little of her credibility. She cursed herself. Why couldn't her face just cooperate?

To keep from embarrassing herself anymore, Sabrina walked off to the front of the group and began leading them outside. It struck her as she went that the twenty-five or so kids, all with less than a decade of training, were probably not going to make much of a difference against the Scarlet Hand, all of whom were hundreds if not thousands of years old. They were walking into a suicide mission.

But they were going to keep going anyway, because they had their parents (and older siblings or uncles or aunts or cousins or friends, or grandparents for some of them) at stake.

They marched through the morning. It was a long walk to the Golden Egg, on the Southern end of Ferryport Landing. When they finally reached it, they were astounded, because what they saw wasn't ruins, or a battle, or a siege: it was robots.

"Who do we know that does robots?" Daphne muttered to Sabrina.

"Oz." Sabrina confirmed, and Daphne nodded. "But he's _in_ Oz, isn't he?" She continued. "He went back ages ago, and said he'd stay."

"I get the feeling we've been double crossed." Daphne shrugged, starting forward. "How good are you with robots?"

Sabrina grinned and followed her sister. "Bet I can take out more than you can."

"Oh, it's _on_." Daphne responded, running forward and pulling out a wand as she went.

Everyone else followed, and someone (probably Puck) shouted a ridiculous battle cry. Another person took it up, then another and another, and soon everyone was shouting or screaming as they ran for the robots surrounding the Golden Egg.

Sabrina's first robot was hard to take down. It was a large thing, on wings that didn't work very well, that shot darts out its hands. She had to dodge them while trying to get in close enough to do some damage to the thing, and it didn't work very well. But she got it down eventually, with help from Kaytee, who distracted it long enough that she could sneak behind and jam her sword into its chest and drag upwards, destroying its wiring.

The second one was easy. It was shaped like a snake, and tried to slither up her leg, so she stepped on it. It was fragile, and the crunch of the thing under her foot was extremely satisfying.

After that, she lost track, destroying robot after robot. As the sun fell closer to the horizon, though, it became apparent that some of the robots had sent out signals, because the Scarlet Hand began to show up, and now they were fighting monsters and people as well as robots. No dragons had shown up yet, though, which was good.

She met up with Daphne during a slow moment, throwing another snake-bot down at her feet from the sky. "Twenty." She said.

"Twenty-two." Daphne countered.

"Well, I also took out five zombies and two card soldiers." Sabrina said. "Where's Red?"

"She went inside with a couple other people." Daphne answered. "They're looking for the grown-ups. And I got four zombies!"

"I'm still winning on overall count." Sabrina shrugged.

"Not for long!" Daphne snapped, and a root whipped out of the ground, wrapping around a robot that looked like one of those boxing toys, complete with blue plastic covering, and squeezed.

Sabrina grinned and flew off, on the hunt again. She was surprised and a little worried to find that she was enjoying this. She'd spent two very bored weeks, and it was nice to be part of the action. To be doing something useful. She took out two robots together by picking one up and swinging it into a second one, one of the ones that _could_ fly.

She paused again to scan the battlefield, searching for bodies, or people that needed help. She was pretty sure they hadn't lost anyone yet, amazingly. But Annie looked like she could use a hand. She began flying in the girl's direction when she heard a screech.

Her head whipped around, because that was Daphne's voice, and she saw, not her sister in trouble, but-

Puck. Puck falling, Puck, with a red ribbon following him to the ground, trailing from his forehead, halfway across the battlefield.

"Puck!" She screamed, flying forward as fast as she could, her hands reaching out. He was far up, but too far away for her to reach before he hit the ground, so the long fall would only hurt him worse when he hit the ground. She concentrated, pulling at gravity, trying to make it do what she wanted. She felt the catch, and for a moment his fall slowed, but then it sped up again.

_Oh no_.She thought fiercely. _Not this time_. _You were my fi__rst one, and you are _not_ giving up on me now. You _will_ work!_

Speeding forward, she felt his gravity catch, and hold. He slowed. Stayed slower. Started to stop, floating in midair. Sabrina reached him, nine feet above the ground, and grabbed him, breathing a sigh of relief. "You idiot." She muttered, holding back tears. "Why would you go and get yourself hurt like that? You could've _died_."

She flew with him to the woods, planning to hide him somewhere she could come back once everything was over, pulling the weightless body after her and trying to ignore the blood that was still trailing out of his wound and floating in the air behind her.

She touched down in the forest and grabbed her sword, running her hand over the sapphire in the hilt. "Bella!" She called, "I need you!"

"What?" Bella's image appeared in the gemstone. "You're OK, right?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "I'm fine. But Puck's not."

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, eyes widening.

"He's got this huge gash on his forehead, and he's bleeding like heck." Sabrina said. "What do I do?"

"Don't suppose you have any thread, do you?" Bella asked hopefully. "If it's too big, it might need to be stitched up."

Sabrina stared at her. "I can't sew!"

"All right, all right, calm down." Bella said soothingly. "Just... grab something you can use to cover it, and apply pressure. If you can tie it off, that'll be great. And don't worry about it being too tight, you want it to stop the bleeding, and I can fix anything else later, all right?"

"OK. Don't leave, though! I need you!" Sabrina said, looking around frantically for something. Puck's clothes weren't frayed, so she couldn't rip those easily, but _her_... her shoes? Her high tops were frayed, and she'd been complaining recently that the tongues were about ready to fall out. Could she use those as a bandage? She tugged, and they came out. She laid them on Puck's head, where, laying side by side, they just covered the entire wound. Now something to keep them there with... Taking her sword, she sliced the bottom of her shirt, and began tugging until she had a wide white strip. She tied it over Puck's head and looked down at it, satisfied. "That should work." She said, turning the hilt of her sword to it. "What do you think?"

"Close enough." Bella agreed. "He won't die, anyway. But the sooner you can get him back here, the better."

"All right." Sabrina said, standing. "You can go now."

"Good." Bella said, "I need to- Basil! Stop that!"

Bella was gone. Sabrina shook her head and, holding her sword at the ready, just in case, began searching for things she could use to both hide Puck from plain sight and help herself remember where he was. In the end, she levitated him into the middle of a large pile of rocks and covered anything you could see of him with sticks, moss, and lichen.

She was just turning to leave when she heard a snap of the twigs behind her, and a robotic creak. She spun, sword at the ready, protecting Puck, then stopped.

This robot looked human. In fact, it looked surprisingly familiar, though she could still see the signs of mechanics. Standing directly in front of her, in full metal regalia, was Mirror.


	107. Casualty

**AN~ I keep finishing these earlier and earlier. I don't know why. But I get out of school in a week from Wednesday! I will be DONE WITH CLASS! Also two other kind of important things: 1) I think it was dontcrossmeX who was asking for this. But it's here. 2) I have more reviews than No Matter What! Do you know how ecstatic this makes me?  
**

**The Winner of Last QotD: emowriter. Because. Why do I need to justify myself to you people? Gosh! You're not my REAL moms!  
**

New QotD: If you could do one thing to change the world, what would you do? (Please don't be serious, I'm looking for stuff like 'turn everyone purple,' not 'cure cancer'.)

**_silverwombat:_ Yeah, Sabrina's still growing like she's not an Everafter. She wants to be treated like an adult. You know, if you go to Barnes and Noble, you can get book nine already (I know 'cause my friend just gave it to me for my birthday). Thanks so much!**

**_Kathie: _But every review is special! Like guests at a birthday party! (this was written on my birthday, so yeah...) I think you might be right about the marshmallows being on purpose. I mean, it's like they cut and pasted them! You know what? Your nook can go take a bath, 'cause I can take my books in the shower, and you can't. XD QotD: I WANT THAT UNICORN! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT! Also: why would I suffer? That was funny!  
**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ Theoretically, it could be done. With a VERY strong robot face-cracking machine. Euuu... seal barf? Ew! I don't know how I come up with this, other than showering. Showers help everything. Puck fears you killing him and thus say he shall not die. QotD: Who's Sharlene? I think I missed something. Other than that, hahaha...**

**_Agd: _Maybe. Maybe that'll happen. Except that would be kind of weird. 'Cause what if it was like, his left armpit or something? QotD: DUDE, it's like that GIF of the girl tied in the chair with Friday playing in her headphones! Torture!**

**_NinjaBunny: _Yeah, it did sound like that Moth right there for a second...**

* * *

"Mirror!" Sabrina gasped, drawing her sword up in front of her.

"Hello, Starfish." Mirror said. His voice still sounded the same, though his jaw squeaked a little when it moved.

"How are you here?" Sabrina asked. "And don't call me that!"

Mirror smiled. "Oz discovered a way to transfer my consicousness to one of his robots. Far more convenient, this way I don't have to grow old and die or fight to take over someone else's body."

Sabrina glared at him. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because you can't, Starfish." Mirror said. "I was never born, you see. So I can't die. I'll just go into the nearest available body and take it over. And you wouldn't want that to happen to poor Puck, would you?"

Sabrina gasped.

"Oh, yes, I know he's there." Mirror smiled. "You hid him quite well, but you've underestimated me, little one. I can tell where everyone is. I'm more powerful than you can imagine. You're helpless against me."

"Well, if you're so powerful, why aren't I dead yet?" Sabrina challenged, knowing it was stupid.

"Simple, Starfish." Mirror said. "You can open the barrier. I can't. I need you."

"I'll never help you." Sabrina hissed.

Mirror smiled. "We'll see about that. I have leverage, you know."

Sabrina glared at him and popped a barrier into place between him and her, one that nothing that contained any magic could cross. She didn't disconnect herself from it, but she left the merest thread of power connecting her to her creation.

For the first time, Mirror frowned. He shoved his hands in front of him, and lightning bolts exploded out of them, ricocheting off the barrier to hit trees and the tail of a passing squirrel, which scampered off in terror.

Sabrina sat down, and, faking a serene expression, said, "I can do this forever."

"So can I, Starfish." Mirror said. It occurred to Sabrina how realistic his facial expressions were, for a robot.

Sabrina smiled, laying her bravado on thick. "Can you, now? You have to run out of power eventually, or at least be needed elsewhere. I can leave this thing up for eternity. Or I can stop time, and just walk off and leave you in the dust."

Mirror glared, and Sabrina could see him dying to squash her._ Good._ She thought. _Serves him right, for what he did to me_.

"Fine." Mirror muttered. "You've won for now, Starfish. But you can't keep this up forever.

"We'll see." Sabrina said. But Mirror was already gone, vanished without a trace.

She sighed, and putting her hand on the barrier, reabsorbed as much of the energy from it as she could, heading back to the battle.

As she was on her way back, she was met by a horrifying sight: fifty feet in the air and rising higher was a robot, and on its back was Tim, hanging on for dear life. His feet were scrabbling at the thing weakly, searching for a foothold- _So Art was right_, she thought, detached, _he was faking_- but his legs weren't strong enough to give him purchase, and he couldn't fight back against the robot without falling. And the only person in range to help him was Art himself, fighting three more flying robots (she wondered where they were coming from), completely unaware of the situation six yards away. Apparently Red had been successful in getting the people in the Golden Egg free.

"Help!" Tim called, and Art turned as Sabrina ran forward.

Sabrina was going to give Tim the gravity-free boost he'd need to be safe and fight back, but before she could, she was met by a robot of her own, the kind that shot lasers out its eyes, and she couldn't do anything except dodge, try as she could, except pray that Art got there in time.

Except that she saw him clearly turn his back on Tim and continue fighting his own almost-dead opponents.

And then she saw Tim fall.

And she couldn't stop him in time. She slowed him a few times, but controlling gravity, dodging lasers, fighting back, and watching for other dangers was too much, and instinct took over, making her take care of herself first. If it had been Daphne, she might have been able to do it. But not for Tim. Of course, if it had been Daphne, she wouldn't have had to, because Art would have gotten there in time. She'd known Art and Tim disliked each other, but she hadn't known it went this far, that he would sit back and let him-

She couldn't finish her sentence.

But her feelings had given her a burst of energy, and she destroyed the robot in under a minute, running over to Tim, hoping, hoping- but when she made it to him, it was too late.

"Oh no." She whispered.

She fought there for the rest of the day, fiercely, determined, killing zombies and robots left and right, with a fire in her eyes that kept anything with a brain away from her. Night came, and still she fought, along with the others, in a war zone lit by magical fires in all colors and an ever-decreasing number of robot lasers. The fight lasted 'til dawn, and when the sun crested the horizon, the children and Everafters were left alone in the killing ground around the Golden egg, with the Scarlet Hand nowhere in sight.

Daphne found her_,_ then, standing over him. She didn't notice, at first, just hugging her sister as tight as she could, but then she saw, and it broke Sabrina's heart to see how her sister cried. Or it would have, but she was feeling strangely detached about the whole thing. _Shock_. She registered numbly. _I'm in shock_.

Daphne's wailing brought the others over, and they stood in a circle, each grieving in their own way. Art put his arms around Daphne. It set a little flame burning in Sabrina's heart, thawing her, and for the first time since she'd seen him fall, Sabrina heard sounds up close again, not in the muffled way she'd been. She stalked off. How could he- After he'd- Like he hadn't- And Daphne- All his fault!

She found that she was crying. She wiped the tears away brusquely, stalking off in search of Puck. She didn't have time to grieve. She had to make sure they only lost one. She couldn't bear it if Puck-

But he was there, too, still unconscious, with her makeshift bandage around his head, stained a reddish brown color. The blood was dry, though. She bent down to pick him up, but found herself incapable of getting back up, and she wrapped her arms around the unconscious boy and lay down, sobbing into his shirt.

She must have fallen asleep that way, because suddenly Red's voice was calling to her.

"Huh?" She said, rubbing her eyes blearily to remove the crust that fought in vain to hold her eyelashes together. She grabbed her sword and pulled it up to her face. "What is it?"

"Where are you?" Red asked, and her voice cracked. "We've been looking everywhere for you. They want to have a meeting. And do you know where Puck is? Or Marcus?"

"Puck's here with me." Sabrina said. "He got hurt during the battle, and I went to get him, and I must have fallen asleep. I don't know where Marcus is, though."

"Well, get back here fast." Red said. "Daphne needs you."

"All right." Sabrina said, shoving her sword back in her belt. She stood and maneuvered Puck out from inside the rocks, levitating him back through the woods and to the battlefield, which was already majorly cleared- at least of the machinery. The remains of a great number of the zombies remained outside. Sabrina wrinkled her nose, walking faster through the carnage.

Red was waiting for her at the door, and when she saw her, she gave a relieved smile.

"There you are!" She said. "They've just started planning. You should get in there before they shove us all in a corner for the rest of our lives."

Sabrina nodded tiredly, then did a double take. "You're talking a lot."

Red shrugged. "I feel... different. Now hurry up!"

Wide-eyed, Sabrina nodded and followed after the small girl, still trailing Puck, through the front room of the Golden Egg, which was a mess. But they passed through the door into the rest of the building, the room with all the chairs, and found that in perfect shape, the chairs arranged in a far more orderly circle around the edge of the room than usual.

Sabrina sat in an empty seat next to the door, lowering Puck to the ground at her feet as she did so, and turned to the group to find them all watching her expectantly.

"So... now what?" She said.

"Now we can begin planning." Mustardseed responded. "Since you're here."

"All right, wanna debrief me first, so I know what's what?" Sabrina asked, tapping her feet impatiently. Why were they all so weird right now?

Mustardseed nodded, and launched into an explanation. Apparently the only ones left in the Golden Egg were those physically under eighteen, because when the attack had come, the adults had made the children swear to stay inside and gone out to fight. They'd never come back, though Mustardseed was almost certain that they were still alive. Tim had been the only casualty- Daphne's breath hitched audibly when the boy's name was mentioned- though several people were injured. Red had been in contact with Bella, and everything was quiet at the house. Sabrina's chicken house was missing, and several of the other children who hadn't come had yet to be accounted for.

"All right." Sabrina said. "Now what?"

"That's what you're here for." Art said, giving her a look.

Sabrina ignored him pointedly and turned to Mustardseed. "Seriously, do we have a plan of action or anything?" She was getting a sinking feeling in her gut, though. She was pretty sure she knew what was up, and why the adults had been captured. If Mirror wanted to get her to help, all he had to do was threaten her parents. He knew what lengths she'd go to for them.

Mustardseed shook his head. "I've got some ideas, but that's about it. We were waiting for you to discuss things."

"Right." Sabrina said. "Do we know who's left at the fort?"

"Nurse Sprat, Ghepetto, and a few other older people." Jonas said. "Most of them are pretty useless."

"Useless like we're useless, you mean?" Daphne shot back. "Just 'cause they're old doesn't mean they can't do anything. Someone should go talk to them once we're finished here. They can help. They can at least work with the fort."

"All right, all right." Jonas said, putting his hands up. "Relax."

Daphne glared at him silently, eyes glistening.

"That's a good idea." Sabrina said. "We should be getting everyone together, and if they work with the fort, and everyone back at my house works together to get everything we can use out of the Hall of Wonders-"

"But we can't get in to the Hall of Wonders." Daphne pointed out.

"Oh." Sabrina said. "I guess you didn't know that. Right."

"Know what?" Everyone asked at once.

Sabrina took a deep breath and sighed. "Mirror's out." She said. "He's inside a robot. I saw him. Talked to him, even."

Everyone gasped, but nobody asked how she wasn't dead.

"So we have the Hall of Wonders back." Mustardseed said. "That's a plus. And if we get everyone together, at the fort, or your house, we should be able to come up with a plan of attack. We need to find out where the adults are, though, and we need people to get everyone together, and someone to treat the wounded, and it would be so useful if we had that house of Baba Yaga's!"

"I might be able to help with that." Sabrina said. "As long as they haven't burned it down or anything, I've got the key, and it'll come when I call. May take a while, though."

"Right." Mustardseed nodded. "Until then, I want anyone with any skill at healing to go help Peaseblossom with the wounded, and anyone with skills that can get them somewhere stealthily to come see me. I'll be sending some of you out to the town to look for stragglers, and some of you to the the fort to talk with the people there. After that, we'll all meet back here. If Sabrina gets the house, she'll be shuttling people to the fort from here, all right?"

Everyone agreed in one way or another, and stood up and began milling around. Sabrina grabbed the key on her necklace and, stepping over Puck, headed over to Art. When she reached him, she grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"What is it?" Art asked, allowing himself to be dragged.

"I saw what you did there. On the battlefield." Sabrina told him harshly, getting straight to the point. "You could've saved him. I know you could have. But you didn't."

"Sabrina, I-" Art began.

She cut him off. "I know you didn't like him, but how could you?" She snapped. "You let him _die_, Art! I might understand a bit if it was just for you, or me, but how could you do that to Daphne?"

This time Art said nothing, looking stricken.

"I was starting to think you were the right one for her, Art." Sabrina said quietly. "Guess I was wrong."

"So what are you going to do, then?" Art asked. "Tell her?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I'm going to let you live with the guilt of knowing what you did to Daphne by not doing anything. I think it's the worst punishment I can give you."

She walked off, leaving Art behind her, heading for the outside.

She spent the next hour waiting for the house, hoping it hadn't been destroyed, too. Because goofy as it sounded, she loved it. The house was as alive as Elvis, even if it was in a different way. She was deciding whether to call it for the fifteenth time or give up when it finally showed, a chicken trailing chains.

"Wow." Sabrina said, bending down to pluck some of the chains off it. "You really had to work to get here, didn't you?"

The house clucked and morphed back into its true, large form, and Sabrina found herself on the porch.

Sabrina grinned. "All right, we've got work to do. Sorry you can't have a rest before, but I'll be right back."

She ran inside to find Mustardseed. He was in the room Peaseblossom was using as a makeshift hospital, and she stopped dead at the sight of several giant purple cocoons. "Not again!" She wailed, backing up.

"What?" Peaseblossom asked, turning. "Oh, no, don't worry, Puck's already done."

"Thank you." Sabrina said emphatically. "I don't want to stink again."

Peaseblossom snickered. "Well, he's still out cold, but I closed his head up, and he should heal fine without a cocoon."

"Great." Sabrina said. "So, listen, Mustardseed. The house just came back. You want me to shuttle some people someplace? Like to Nurse Spratt or my house?"

"Your house first." Mustardseed said. "It's better protected."

"Right." Sabrina said. "I can take maybe five sick people at once. Does that work?"

Mustardseed nodded. "Pease? Pick out some people to send and someone to watch them?"

Peaseblossom hurried off, and returned later with Jonas in tow. "Get out of my hair and go where you can do something useful." She told the boy. "We're sending the cocoons first, 'cause they can take care of themselves 'til they hatch. I'm hoping most of them will be out before they'll need to mark a protector."

Sabrina made a face, but leaned down to grab a big, sticky cocoon. She tried to breathe through her mouth as she lifted the thing up and began carrying it out to the chicken house. It was going to be a long day.


	108. NotSoForeign Relations

**AN~ Yup. One-day update. This is what reading days do to me. When I SHOULD be working on my History Paper and my Psych final and my Bio powerpoint and my Creative Writing Portfolio, I write a new chapter. You're welcome.  
**

**The Winner of Last QotD: All three of them. Lara D, GrimmGirlLove, and lovelylamb1999 are all winners.  
**

New QotD: Tell me something I didn't already know that I would find interesting. Like Snapple facts. The coolest new one wins.

* * *

Sabrina leaned back with a sigh against the outside wall of the chicken house. She'd just finished her last trip from the Golden Egg, and it was past midnight. With the day she'd had, she was about ready to pass out. And she couldn't even do it in her own bed, because Nurse Sprat and Bella had commandeered almost all the beds in Puck's old room and the house itself to use for the injured. She, while dead beat, was uninjured, and unqualified for a bed, so she and Daphne were sharing Uncle Jake and Briar's bed in the Chicken House. Red got her own bed, and Peaseblossom was sleeping on the couch in the living room, because she'd helped move the last group of patients, and Sabrina had refused to take her home.

"Come on, get up." Red said from the doorway.

Sabrina looked at her with a groan and said, "I don't wanna move."

Red stuck out her hands, and Sabrina slipped them inside the smaller girl's reluctantly and used them to heave herself up. She staggered inside and dropped into the bed next to Daphne, falling asleep instantly.

Unfortunately, her sleep was plagued with nightmares. Dreams full of rotting corpses falling with her from a great height woke her up at least four times, and in each one she sat up with a jerk when she saw that she was falling because she, too, was decaying, her wings featherless and dotted with holes. And when she wasn't woken by her own dreams, Daphne's screams shook her out of her sleep. Around five in the morning, though, she wrapped her arms around her sister, and they slept curled up together in a way they hadn't for years, despite sharing a bedroom for so long. The nightmares came less after that.

In the morning, it was back to work, this time helping Nurse Sprat. Daphne had gone to the fort to help make preparations there, and Sabrina found herself feeling strangely alone despite the people around her- that is, until Puck woke up.

When she saw the boy in the hallway, she blushed bright red and scampered in the opposite direction. She spent most of the rest of the day doing the same thing, because he, for some reason, didn't go off to the fort, where he could be _useful_, but stayed behind at the house, and seemed to end up where she was an extraordinary amount of the time.

She spent a long, awkward day dodging Puck, feeding people, and doing housework (a good portion of which involved finding stuff for other people to take back, because they'd discovered that they could get to the fort through the mirrors), and slept the same way she had the night before.

Mustardseed got a good group of them together in the evening to update each other: The Golden Egg was in charge of search and rescue at the moment, sending people out into the town to find stragglers or any signs of the adults, just in case they hadn't been brought to Mab's castle, or anything useful left in the open; the fort was in charge of preparing for battle, either attack or defense; and the Grimm house was in charge of nursing, because even though Nurse Sprat had a fairly well-equipped hospital tent, she much preferred to work inside, and it was safer.

"I want you running shuttles, Sabrina." Mustardseed finished. "The chicken house listens to you, and you're capable of protecting yourself and it. And even though the fort and your house are connected now, the Golden Egg is cut off. Which reminds me-"

"You want me to put up barriers, right?" Sabrina asked. She'd honestly expected him to ask earlier. "I can do ones like I did for the house. It keeps out magic and anyone with thoughts against the people inside."

"What about things like bombs?" Nurse Sprat asked. "How do we keep those out?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I can't make it impenetrable to solid stuff. Then we'd run out of air. The house here has its own protections against stuff like that. Everyone else is going to have to work out their own stuff."

Mustardseed nodded. "I can probably spare some people for that."

"Or we can." Daphne suggested. "Say we send ten people who'd be at the fort to the Golden Egg with some tools and stuff and see what we can do?"

Mustardseed nodded again. "That seems like a better idea. I don't suppose you can spare Ghepetto?"

Daphne shook her head. "He's pretty much running things up there now. Maybe in a couple days, once we all know what we're doing. But not now."

Mustardseed nodded with a sigh. "Well, I believe that's it. Anything else?"

Nobody said anything, and they all headed their separate ways. Sabrina and Daphne slept like they had the night before, though this time they were smart enough to start out snuggled together. But when Sabrina woke up at two in the morning to use the bathroom, she found her shoulder had a damp spot on it, exactly where Daphne had been resting her head.

The next morning, Sabrina began her shuttle runs right after breakfast, starting by taking some things that were too big and awkward to carry through the mirrors to the fort. Puck had somehow snuck along with her, and she couldn't seem to get rid of him, so she spent most of her day ignoring his presence while she put up the barriers and took people and things back and forth between the three buildings.

around two o' clock, though, she had a break where she didn't have to take anything anywhere, and Puck appeared right next to her.

"So..." He said. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong?" Sabrina asked. "Nothing's wrong."

"Grimm, you haven't talked to me in like three days." Puck said. "And we need to talk about it."

"It?" Sabrina asked, stalling. "Oh, you mean... yeah. The night on the porch. Right."

"Right." Puck said, glaring at her. "That."

Sabrina blushed, and gave him the lie she'd been preparing: "Listen, Puck, I'm sorry. It wasn't... I wasn't trying to say I wanted that or anything. It was just... I was scared I was going to die, and I guess I didn't want to die without feeling what it was like to kiss someone when I started it, or something. And you were there, and maybe I wondered a little if I... but... Yeah. It doesn't have to change anything. We're still just friends."

"So... you didn't mean anything by it." Puck said slowly.

Sabrina shook her head. "I was just confused. That's all."

"And we're back to normal?" Puck asked.

Sabrina nodded.

Puck let out a deep breath. "Well." He said. "That was a lot of agonizing for nothing. Why couldn't you just keep your lips to yourself, Grimm?"

"Well, sor-ree, banana-fingers." Sabrina stuck her tongue out, relishing in the brief chance to be relaxed and squelching the whisper of 'what if I'd told him the truth?' "You kiss like a dead fish, anyway."

"Well, you kiss like a retarded seal!" Puck shot back.

"How many retarded seals have you kissed?" Sabrina asked. "Besides, I have an excuse. I'm fourteen and a tomboy who's never had a boyfriend. You're four _thousand_. You're supposed to have experience in this kind of thing."

"I was eleven the whole time!" Puck protested. "What eleven year old boy likes girls?"

"Oh, come on." Sabrina teased. "You can't tell me you've never even had a crush! I had my first crush at _ten_."

"I've only ever liked one girl." Puck told her, suddenly serious. "And I can tell you, none of the girls in the past four thousand years were anywhere near as amazing as her."

"Oh." Sabrina said sadly, because she could see in his face that he was telling the truth. "Well, I hope she likes you back." She said, attempting to cheer herself up for his sake.

Puck shook his head. "She most definitely doesn't."

Sabrina sucked in a hissing breath sympathetically. "Ouch." She said. "If it makes you feel any better, though, I know how you feel. The guy I like doesn't like me back, either."

Before Puck could say anything else, Red poke her head in the room. The small girl had retained her sudden boldness, and she was a lot more talkative now. "They need you inside, Puck. And Sabrina, can you take me to the Golden Egg? We think it's a good idea to have someone with one of our swords there, so that we have one everywhere."

The two stood up, nodding, and they were off again, in different directions this time. That was perfectly fine with Sabrina. She had some stuff she needed to think about anyway.

"So what were you talking about?" Red asked once the house was up and moving. She was sitting on the armchair with the TV remote in her hand.

Sabrina made a face and walked over to the window, looking outside. "Just something that happened the night before the battle."

"You made out, didn't you?" Red asked.

Sabrina's eyes widened, and she lost her balance falling into the window frame. "Well, I wouldn't say made out, exactly, but we... yeah, there was a moment there." She said.

"So?" Red asked, switching the TV on.

"So nothing." Sabrina said. "We're not like that. Just friends."

"Mm-hm." Red said skeptically, smiling a little.

And then Sabrina snapped. "Red." She said. "You're being a bitch."

Now Red's eyes widened, and the girl dropped the remote midway through flipping channels.

"Ever since the battle, you've been different." Sabrina continued. "Some of it's good. I like that you're talking. But one of the things I always liked about you was that you're practically the only person who doesn't just _assume_ Puck and I are going to get together, and act like we're being idiots for not dating already. And now you're starting it, too! And it's not just that! When you started talking, you started snapping at people and talking down at them! I don't know why you're doing it, but it needs to stop. It's not like you, Red. And it's not what you should want to be like, either."

And suddenly, Red was crying. "I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I just... After Tim... and with Mamma Briar and Daddy Jake... And I thought that if I... But I didn't mean... I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey." Sabrina said, panicking, thinking to herself 'what do I do what do I do?' "Don't... Oh, Red, I'm sorry. It's OK." She hurried over and wrapped her arms around the other girl tentatively.

Red leaned in, wrapping her arms back around Sabrina, sobbing. "I just-" She hiccuped, "I just got so-"

"I know." Sabrina soothed. "I know."

"It was different when Baba Yaga died." Red whispered. "I didn't feel like this. Maybe it's 'cause I didn't lose my parents at the same time. And I'm scared I'm going to... go back. To how I used to be."

"You're as sane as I am." Sabrina told her frankly. "And granted, that's not saying much, but they let me run free, so you're good." She smiled crookedly.

Red giggled through her tears, but said, "But what if I do go back to how I was before?"

"Then we'll fix you again." Sabrina said. "And we won't leave you, I promise."

"Are you sure?" Red asked. "My old family did. And they... They were really my family."

"Red." Sabrina said, pulling her chin up so they were looking eye to eye. "I know what it's like to be abandoned. And I promise you that I will never let you feel that way again. Even if we can never get the grown-ups back, I will always be there for you, no matter what."

"Okay." Red nodded, rubbing her nose with the back of her wrist.

The house creaked loudly, shaking them. Sabrina looked up. "Either it agrees or we're here."

"I think we're here." Red said. "'Cause it's not moving."

"Right." Sabrina said, standing, suddenly businesslike. "Time to go. You're going to be staying here a while, I guess?"

Red nodded. "I'm gonna clean some of my stuff out of my room, OK?"

"Lemme help." Sabrina offered.

Most of what they moved ended up being clothes, though Red grabbed her toothbrush and a big bag of art supplies, too. It only took two trips to get everything she wanted into the room Mustardseed had put her in.

Sabrina found that Mustardseed was starting to get on her nerves. He'd just stepped up to the plate and taken over. And while she didn't think she'd want to be the leader, she was a bit tired of him telling her what to do, and she was starting to chafe at the bit a little. She wanted to be able to do stuff that was useful, not just act like a bus service. The house would listen to other people, too, not just her! So she decided to do something about it.

It took her two days, though, to actually get fed up enough to ignore his instructions. The breaking point was when she found out that Daphne had been permanently assigned to work with the soldiers while Sabrina still ran trips. That was just unfair.

"Puck?" She asked, early that morning.

Puck blinked at her groggily. "Wha?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends what it is." Puck said cautiously.

"Can you take the chicken house back and forth for me today?" She asked. "I have something I want to get done."

"Oh no." Puck said, and suddenly he was awake, sitting straight up in bed and slipping his shoes on over his footie pajamas. "I know that look. You're not going anywhere without me, Grimm. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, come on." Sabrina said. "You don't even know what I'm planning."

"No, but I know it won't be safe." Puck said. "Find someone else to watch the house for you. Or better yet, stay in it."

"Not you, too." Sabrina complained. "I'll be fine. And I'm tired of sitting around staying safe. Daphne's getting ready to fight. Why am I the only one stuck on useless duty?"

"I told Mustardseed this was a bad idea." Puck muttered. "I'm not saying you can't go." He told her. "Just that you can't go alone."

"Fine." Sabrina sighed. "But you have to find someone else to take care of the house instead." She headed back the way she'd come, then stuck her head back through the doorway. "Wait- told Mustardseed what was a bad idea?"

"Keeping you somewhere away from the action. He thought you'd be fine with the house- 'she'll know she's being useful'" He mimicked, "But I told him you'd want to be fighting."

Sabrina shook her head. "He's a great king, Mustardseed, but not a great general." She said.

Puck nodded. "I know." He responded. "You'd be a good leader." He suggested. "Go down there and help him out. He'll listen to your suggestions, and you know how to work things better than he does."

Sabrina shook her head again- more emphatically this time. "Heck no. I want to be in on the action. If I'm down there at the Golden Egg, all I'll be doing is telling other people what to do. I just want him to stop trying to tell me what to do."

Puck sighed. "You're impossible."

Sabrina shrugged and smiled. "I know. Now hurry up and get some breakfast so we can head out."

Puck shook his head and got up to follow her, then realized what he was wearing and stopped, pulling off his shoes.

Sabrina was tempted to head off without him. Really tempted. But she knew he was right. So she made breakfast for everyone in the house, including some newly healed people she hadn't seen before, and sat down to feed Basil, a little worried as she did so. They were running out of food. There had been a magic tablecloth in the Hall of Wonders, that fed people however much they wanted of whatever they wanted, but it had gone to the fort. The house was almost out of stuff. That was among what she wanted to get done today- a trip to a grocery store. She'd have to leave town to do that, though. Which meant she'd need the carpet. But the grocery store in Ferryport Landing had been ransacked ages ago, and the garden that had been set up in Puck's old room just wasn't sufficient for all the people they had.

"What you thinkin' 'bout, 'Brina?" Basil asked.

"Grown-up stuff." Sabrina answered. "It's boring."

"Oh." Basil said, thinking. "How come?"

"'Cause Mom and Dad aren't here to think about it for us." Sabrina explained. "And someone needs to do it 'til they get back."

Basil made a face. "Bleah." He said.

Sabrina snickered and said, "That's about right, buddy. What are you going to do today?"

"Play wif Mildwed." Basil said. Mildred was one of the children who lived in Puck's old room, and she and Basil had become fast friends. "What 'bout you?"

"I'm going food shopping." Sabrina said.


	109. In Which Sabrina is Stupid Again

**AN~ Sorry for the long wait, guys. I've had a rough two weeks. I told you earlier that my dad was in the hospital with cancer. Well, last Wednesday, my mom told us that the doctors had decided they couldn't do anything more, and they were sending him home. He came home Saturday, and was here until this Wednesday. And now he's gone. For good.  
**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Psycho Crazy Curly Girl, who told me that twelve newborns get sent home with the wrong parents every day. (Those of you who just looked up a ton of stuff, I can see through that.)  
**

New QotD: What would you like your headstone to say? Make it cool.

**_blaxon: _Thanks! And Sabrina's just going shopping (so she says). What's to get her in trouble about groceries? I'm WORKING on the Puckabrina. Slowly. QotD: Werid... Not all of those can be enforced.**

**_kgirl:_ Bess and Hamstead didn't actually die... Thanks, though! QotD: I did NOT know that.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ I forgive you. Unfortunately, those two don't realize 'cause they're clueless. QotD: Wow. You'd be good on game shows.**

**_K. A. J.:_ Thanks so much!**

* * *

"We're going _shopping_?" Puck asked incredulously. "All this for groceries?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Also there may kind of be something else planned for after maybe, but mostly we're going shopping. See? You don't need to come."

"Mm-hmm." Puck said, sounding unconvinced. "Except for that one part you said really fast in the middle there."

"No idea what you're talking about." Sabrina said. "Carpet, up!"

She and Puck were in the front yard on the carpet, armed with their swords and three hundred dollars. They'd had to tell someone where they were going to get the money, which put Sabrina off a bit, but it was going to make things go smoother, because nobody would miss her. At least not for a while.

"Grimm..." Puck said warningly. "We're stuck on this carpet for the next however long it takes to get to a grocery store. I'm going to drive you insane until you tell me what you're planning."

"I'm planning to go buy food." Sabrina said innocently.

Puck gave her a Look. "I don't believe that for a minute. Do I need to prank you?"

"Good luck with that." Sabrina said. "Red and Basil cleaned out your pockets while you were eating breakfast. I don't know how you keep all that stuff in there, but _man_, Puck! You've got quite a stash."

"Stop, Grimm, you're making me blush." Puck pretended to fan himself. "It's a spell on the sweatshirt. Haven't you ever put anything in the pockets?" He nodded at Sabrina's sweatshirt, which had been his once.

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't use sweatshirt pockets for anything but my hands."

"Why not?" Puck asked.

"Things fall out of sweatshirt pockets usually." Sabrina said. "And my hands don't fit all the way in my pants pockets."

Puck gave her a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Have you _seen_ girl's pants?" Sabrina asked. "They're ridiculously tight. All of them! I can't find anything that stays up that doesn't hug everything. And the pockets are all tiny! I can't even get my middle finger all the way down in there. The only thing they're good for is making sure little things don't fall out."

"Oh." Puck nodded. "Like money."

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "And the money would fall out of a sweatshirt pocket."

"Not mine." Puck said.

"Yeah, because you have supermagic clothes." Sabrina rolled her eyes, inwardly congratulating herself. She'd distracted him!

"Just the shirts." Puck corrected.

"Well, excuse me." Sabrina said, putting her hands up. "Carpet! Left!"

"So what are you planning?" Puck asked.

"Nothing." Sabrina said. "Geez, fartbreath, where is the trust?"

"I trust you to be scheming. All the time." Puck said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. All I want to do is get us food, and... maybe go to the town hall of the closest place for a bit just to look around. Nothing scheme-like at all."

"And why do you want to go to the town hall?" Puck asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No reason." Sabrina said. "Just interested."

"In what?" Puck asked.

"I'll tell you when I find it." Sabrina said. "Now can you stop, please?"

"Fine." Puck muttered, lying down on the carpet and crossing his arms in front off him, his chin leaning on them.

Sabrina leaned back and looked up at the sky, her fingers drumming at the carpet, and she smiled. It was so nice to be on her own, with nobody telling her what to do, on a sunny summer day, even if she did have to drag Puck along.

"So do you know where we're going?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "No. But I think the carpet does."

They'd reached the barrier, so Sabrina popped a smaller barrier into existence around them and the carpet flew forward slowly, until they'd cleared Ferryport Landing, when the small barrier popped, the energy sliding back into Sabrina.

"So... what?" Puck asked. "We're just gonna say, 'carpet, take us to the closest grocery store,' and it'll take us there?"

The carpet took off to the west, zooming quickly, and Sabrina, laughing, said, "Yeah, pretty much. And look, it's working!"

Puck shook his head. "That's way too convenient. How does it know where it's going?"

Sabrina shrugged. "I guess it's got a built in GPS or something. Don't question, just be grateful we don't have to find a ShopRite on our own."

Puck didn't answer, and most of the rest of the trip (which took about fifteen minutes in super-quick carpet speed) was silent, until they touched down behind an A&P and walked around to the front of the building, hoping nobody had seen them.

"So what do we need?" Puck asked, peering over Sabrina's shoulder to look at her list.

"Everything." Sabrina said gloomily, looking at the long sheet of paper riddled with tiny writing. "This is going to take forever."

"Not if we split up." Puck said. "But how are we paying for this?"

Sabrina held up a credit card between her second and third fingers with a flourish and grinned. "Your mom's."

Puck blinked. "Did you swipe it?"

Sabrina shook her head. "Mustardseed did."

Now Puck was gaping. "I didn't think he had it in him." He said quietly.

"Me neither." Sabrina said.

"Well, let's get going!" Puck grinned at her.

He ran for the cart return, and Sabrina followed, shaking her head. This was nothing to get that excited about.

The trip did turn out to be kind of fun, though, and they filled up their two carts to the brim, mostly with canned stuff that would last a long time. After paying (Sabrina was afraid of what Titania would say when she saw the bill), they dumped everything on the carpet in the most orderly fashion possible, and walked to the conveniently nearby town hall municipal building thing (Sabrina wasn't sure what it was). They were hit by a blast of too-cold air conditioning as the door swung closed behind them.

"Excuse me." Sabrina said to the receptionist at the heavy oak desk in the front room. "Can I see some maps, please? It's for a school project, and I need to-"

"School project?" The lady asked, looking up. "It's August!"

"I know, right!" Sabrina said without missing a beat, though she had forgotten about that. "Can you believe how much homework they're giving over the summer? It used to just be reading, but not my social studies teacher wants me to do stuff, too! It'd ridiculous!"

"Oh." The receptionist's expression shifted. "You poor thing. Summer is supposed to be for kids to have fun! So what do you need?"

"Property lines?" Sabrina asked. "Like who owns what and all that? I can see them, right?"

"Sure, honey." The receptionist said, standing. "You want me to get them for you, or you wanna come see them?"

"We'll go look at them." Sabrina said, following her. "Do you have to stay back there with us to watch or something?"

"Normally they wouldn't want you back there alone 'til you're a bit older, but I think we can make an exception." The receptionist said, opening the door to a room full of filing cabinets. "The ones for all over the county are in here."

Sabrina flashed her a bright, cheery smile. "Thanks so much! We'll be out when I've got what I need." She turned away from the lady to find Puck gaping at her. "What?" She asked.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Puck asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "I've been watching my mom. She's all convincing. 'Cause sneaking won't get me everywhere."

"Really?" Puck blinked. "I think it's gotten you pretty far before now."

Sabrina grinned. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Now come on, time's a-wastin'."

"What are we looking for?" Puck asked. "I refuse to do anything 'til you tell me what's up."

Sabrina shrugged and said, "Fine, I'll do it myself." She pulled open a filing cabinet labeled 'F' and began rummaging through it. It took her a few minutes to find the most current maps she was looking for- Ferryport Landing and Surrounding Area, and even longer to compare with the map she'd brought from home, and double check everything.

About halfway through her process, Puck got bored and wandered over to her, peering over her shoulder. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"What does it look like?" Sabrina asked, making some more notes on her own map.

"It looks boring, is what it looks like." Puck returned, but he kept watching her, and she knew he was lying.

She shrugged and kept working, and Puck kept watching. After another few minutes, she was finished, and she stood up swiftly, putting her pencil away and folding up the map she'd borrowed. "We need to make a couple stops on the way back, all right?" She asked. "I have something I want to do."

"Grimm, you have to tell me." Puck said firmly. "We are not leaving this room 'til you let me in on what's going on."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You know I could just stop time and run off on you, right?"

"Yeah, but you haven't." Puck said. "Which means you must have something else you're saving your strength for. And I want to know, 'cause this could be dangerous."

"Puck, I promise I'll be fine." Sabrina said with a sigh. "Can we just go, please?"

"You have to at least tell me where we're going." Puck said firmly.

Sabrina pulled out her map and pointed to three locations outside of town. "Here, here, and here." She said. "And then back to town. All right?"

"Fine." Puck made a face. "But you better tell me what you're doing once we're done."

"Once I'm done?" Sabrina said. "Sure, that sounds great."

"What?" Puck said, eyes widening. "No, that's not what I meant! Once we're _there_. Not done."

"Too late." Sabrina said, putting the town's map away and sliding the filing cabinet closed. "You said done. I'm going with done."

"Grimm..." Puck said, and his tone told Sabrina that he wasn't in the mood for games.

"Jeesh, relax already." She rolled her eyes, folding her own map and putting it in her back pocket. "I have to tell you sometime, right? Don't worry."

Puck followed her out of the room, grumbling under his breath. Sabrina rolled her eyes. This was nothing to get that worried about. At the door to outside, she smiled at the receptionist, who was on the phone, and held two thumbs up, then headed out through the doors back into the muggy August sunshine and walked around to the back, where the carpet was waiting.

"Hey, carpet." She said, smiling and rubbing it a bit. "Thanks for waiting." She held out the map, pointing to what she figured was the closest spot. "Can you get here? Puck and I are going to follow you, since you're so full of groceries. It'd be great if you didn't spill any."

The carpet took off rather slowly, and Sabrina took to the skies after it. Puck, still muttering, followed.

"You talk to it like it's alive." He said, once they were all three in the sky at a safe distance from anyone who might look up.

"Isn't it?" Sabrina asked. "You have to admit it does things on its own. I mean, look at it now!"

Puck shrugged. "It's a spell. It isn't really _thinking_."

"So is Mirror just a spell." Sabrina retorted. "And he certainly thinks. I mean, look at what he's done! No spell gone wrong could do that."

Puck shrugged again. "Maybe."

"The way I figure, if you put enough magic in a thing, it kind of comes to life on its own out of all the power in it." Sabrina explained. "Like the Chicken House."

The carpet had slowed down ahead, and Sabrina and Puck dove to follow its descent. They landed by a small dilapidated house with a weed-filled garden behind it. Sabrina knelt down about ten feet away from that garden and put her hands to the ground, forming a small silvery bubble half in the dirt, then covering it with leaves. Once she was done, she stood up, brushing her hands off on her pants, and pulled the map out of her pocket.

"Carpet, now here, all right?" She said, pointing at the next circled location. "Don't go through the barrier, though."

Another flight later- it was getting late, and Sabrina was a bit worried about the groceries. Maybe she should do this tomorrow? No. She had to get it done while she had an excuse to be out. At least they hadn't bought any ice cream- they arrived at the next spot: a large 'log cabin' in the distance, though the spot they were at was just woods, and Sabrina repeated the same process. And then again, at a seaside quay that served some brilliant fish and chips that Puck forced her to stop and purchase, two more silver bubbles half-buried in the dirt. Puck pestered her the whole time, but she refused to answer.

"All right, we can go back to Ferryport Landing, now." Sabrina said. Puck breathed a sigh of relief, and she shot him a look. "We're not done yet, though. I need to get to the very center of the Barrier."

"What the- why?" Puck asked, flabbergasted.

"Because I need to finish this while nobody's looking for me." Sabrina said.

"Finish _what_, Grimm?" Puck asked. "I've been following you around on your stupid little trip all day, the least you can do is tell me what you're up to."

"I'll tell you when we get there." Sabrina said. Seeing the look on Puck's face, she turned so she was facing him straight on and said, "I promise. As soon as we're where I need to be, I'll tell you everything."

Puck gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine." He said. "This better be good."

Sabrina smiled at him in a way that was meant to be reassuring but probably wasn't, and took to the skies. As she lifted off, the carpet zoomed up after her, taking the lead. They flew higher this time, to avoid any Scarlet Hand eyes that might be on the hunt for easy prey, and they didn't talk until they reached the center of the barrier.

"Tell me now." Puck said, folding his arms in front of Sabrina, his wings fluttering rapidly. "You're not landing until you dish."

Sabrina shrugged. "I need to go up, anyway."

"Why?" Puck demanded.

Sabrina sighed and said, "I'm expanding the Barrier."

Puck stared at her and let out a strangled, "You're _what_? Can you- you can't do that!"

"Sure I can." Sabrina shrugged. "It'll be easy. All I have to do is go up there and push. I'll feed power into it as I go so it doesn't get weak, and if I concentrate, I can make sure it stays put instead of just going up."

"But how far are you going?" Puck asked. "And why?"

"The silver things?" Sabrina reminded him. "They were markers. When the Barrier hits them, it'll stop. It's the edge of the stuff people own."

"But _why_?" Puck repeated.

"We need more space." Sabrina shrugged. "There's thousands of us crammed in this place that isn't even twenty miles square. And if I do it now, the Scarlet Hand won't know, and _we_ can use the space. We can learn it before they do, get comfortable there. It's an advantage."

Puck glared at her. "It's a stupid idea."

"It's not and you know it." Sabrina said, though she winced a little internally. What if he was being honest?

"Can I talk you out of it?" Puck asked, resigned.

Sabrina shook her head, flying upward slowly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Puck grabbed her ankle before she got too high. "Not so fast." He said. "I will drag you home kicking and screaming if I have to, but you are going to make me a promise before you start this."

"What?" Sabrina asked, tugging her leg away from him.

"It's gonna take a lot of energy to expand that thing. You have to promise me you'll only go as far as you can, all right?" Puck said. "I don't want you passing out on me. So if you feel like you're gonna collapse, stop." Sabrina started to protest, and he shook his head. "No. I don't care how big you think you can make it, you're stopping as soon as you feel like you're gonna give out."

"Fine." Sabrina sighed. "Let me go, all right?"

Puck let go of her, and Sabrina flew up, hands above her head, until she hit the Barrier with a thud of palms against almost glass. She began feeding energy into it as she flew up further, pushing it outwards, expanding it. Puck was right, it did take a lot of energy, but she was pretty sure she could do it. After all, it wasn't _that_ much bigger. She kept pushing and feeding, thinning the Barrier as much as she felt was safe, to save herself some energy. She was getting weaker, now. She maybe ought to stop, make Puck happy. But she could still do it. She'd be fine. For another ten minutes or so. Even if the air _was_ getting a bit thinner, she was all right. Wasn't she? Now just another ten feet up... twenty... she could keep going, she could. She had to. She was not quitting. Shouldn't she be hitting one of the markers soon? Maybe she should have done this in the morning, when she was fresh. And she knew she should stop, she was going to pass out if she didn't soon, but she had to keep going and- there. The closest marker.

She fell away from the Barrier with a slight smile, wings fluttering weakly. She hoped she wasn't going to fall. But she was done.

Suddenly Puck was there, and he was talking to her, but it seemed a bit far away. He looked worried, and a bit angry. She hoped she hadn't made him look like that. She'd hate to upset him.

Before she could tell him that, though, her eyes fluttered shut, and she was out.


	110. Fishing

**AN~ IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS:**

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**.**

I have been debating, and I have decided that it is time for a name change, for a few reasons: 1) Several things in this are no longer 'never gonna happen' 2) My Epic Fic deserves a better title, 3) I have already had one suggested, and like it, and 4) The title suggested fits the story.

I would also like to redo the summary, but I don't have any good ideas for that yet. This is a warning, and I will not be changing the title quite yet, because people will no longer be able to find it. Soon, though, this will be called 'The Long and Winding Road'.

**.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: allisocoolike, because a friggin' roller coaster. I don't know where it would fit in a graveyard, but...  
**

New QotD: What should the Summary for this story be? It needs to be within 180 characters, and should TRY to sum up the story effectively.

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**_Agd:_ Thanks, and yeah (though Grandparents and parents aren't really similar), it hurts. Chapter: But all my chapters are approximately the same length... Sabrina IS a conundrum, isn't she?**

**_mepe:_ I'm sorry. You may possibly have noticed my author's note, though, which said that my dad just died? Yeah. I have other things on my mind than fanfiction at the moment. And it was under two weeks between updates, so I think you could wait. Also I have no idea what your other half of review meant.**

**_Day Night: _Thanks. Yeah. Updates may bet spotty from here out. But I will still try to update once a week. And glad you liked it.**

**_annoyind loud girl:_ That I did.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _Umm... No. No comas. XD. I bow. QotD: That's either going to be really tiny writing or a really huge headstone.**

**_():_ That's awful.**

* * *

"What were you _thinking_, Grimm?" Puck shouted as soon as Sabrina's eyelids fluttered open again.

Sabrina groaned and pulled an arm over her eyes. She had no idea where she was or how long she'd been out, but she wanted to go back to sleep. And when she moved, it ached terribly.

"Don't pull that." Puck was still speaking. Why wouldn't he be quiet? His voice hurt her ears. He said, "I know you can hear me, and I don't care how much you hurt. You are going to open your eyes, sit up, and listen to this, because you deserve it."

Sabrina shook her head, groaning again when it felt like the whole world shook with it, and sunk down into her- wherever she was. Bed? No, it wasn't cushy enough.

"Up." Puck said, and his hands were on her wrists, dragging her upward. She followed reluctantly, the world spinning around her as she rose.

"Now open your eyes." He instructed.

Sabrina shook her head, trying hard not to groan this time.

"Open them!" Puck shouted, and it rang in Sabrina's ears, making it feel like she was inside Big Ben at noon.

Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at him pitifully, pulling her hands away from his, trying to put them over her ears. "Ow." She whispered.

"It serves you right." Puck said. "Overreaching yourself like that. This is what happens when you use all your magic, Grimm. All of it. What you're feeling is because you fed so much power into that stupid Barrier thing you were doing that you ran out of power, but you were too stubborn to quit, so you started feeding your own life energy into the thing!" Puck was practically shouting, and there was a look in his eyes that Sabrina had never seen before: hard and firey.

"Couldn't you tell what you were doing?" He continued. "Did you stop to notice that you were killing yourself for more _space_? Thirty more seconds, and you'd have been gone, Grimm! Nothing could have brought you back from that! Did you think about what it would do if you were gone? You're most of what's holding these kids together right now. And even if you weren't, did you think what it would do to your family? To Red? To your brother? Your friends? Daphne? Did you think what it would do to-" His voice cracked, and he stopped. "I can't believe you were that idiotic." He muttered, turning away from her.

Sabrina had shrunk with each thing Puck said, and to her disgust, she could feel tears starting to build up in her eyes. What was going on? She didn't cry! Especially not over something as trivial as being yelled at. She squeezed her eyes shut again, willing the tears away. She would not cry. She wouldn't.

When she was sure she was in control of herself, Sabrina asked, "How do you know? What I'm feeling?"

Puck shook his head ruefully and said, "I chew you out with that and all you say is 'how do you know what it's like to use too much energy'? Really?"

He was silent for a long time, and Sabrina thought he wasn't going to answer, but he eventually said, "I did it myself. I was maybe a hundred, and I'd made a bet. I was determined not to lose. Almost killed myself winning. I learned my limits after that." He chuckled. "You're in for a heck of a time, Grimm. I wouldn't go through that again for... almost anything."

"I am sorry." Sabrina said. "Really I am. I just... I thought I could do it."

"Yeah, I know." Puck said, giving her a look. "But you promised you'd stop if you knew you were done. I know you knew when to quit."

Sabrina laid back down on the bed with a sigh, wincing as everything spun when she moved. "Yeah. I was stupid." She said.

"You can say that again." Puck said. "I just- I can't believe you'd be that reckless. I mean, this was premeditated recklessness! You _planned_ to be stupid!"

"I said I was sorry!" Sabrina protested. "And can you tone it down? You're hurting my head."

"Well, if you hadn't been such an idiot, you wouldn't have this headache." Puck said, emphasizing more words than he really needed to.

"Yeah, well." Sabrina muttered, unable to think up a comeback around the pounding inside her skull. "Where are we anyway?"

"You're sitting on the carpet." Puck said. "I took the groceries home and made up an excuse for you. Got back a few minutes ago. It's more than you deserve."

"Thanks anyway." Sabrina said. So they didn't know how dumb she'd been. That was a perk.

"You get to explain to them why you're like this, though." Puck said cruelly. "I'm not helping you out any more than I already have."

And that was not.

"Come on, please?" She asked. "I'll pay you back."

"No." Puck said. "We're going home now that you're awake, and you are going to tell everyone why you look like you got run over by a truck, and I am going to sit back and watch and laugh."

"That's the first thing you've said tonight that's sounded like you." Sabrina observed, rolling over on the carpet, slowly, slowly, trying not to make the world spin. It didn't quite work.

"You scared me, Grimm." Puck said, and his voice cracked again. "I thought you were going to kill yourself."

"I'm sorry." Sabrina said, very quiet.

"You've mentioned." Puck responded. "It's just- Gah, Grimm, you can be so smart sometimes, but then you go and do something idiotic like this. And you wonder why people don't trust you to take care of yourself."

"Oh, thanks." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"You're reckless." Puck said. "And because half the time you're right, or it turns out fine, you think it makes it OK. But it's not. And one of these days, if you don't learn to think first, you're going to get yourself killed."

"Like you're one to talk." Sabrina muttered.

"You're worse." Puck retorted. "And I'm not in the mood to bicker with you. You need to work on this."

"If I promise, can we go home?" Sabrina asked wearily. She wasn't really in very good shape to argue, either.

"Yes." Puck said. "Let's get you to bed, idiot."

Sabrina decided to let that comment slide (a sure sign of how bad she truly felt), and they both rode the carpet home in silence. Sabrina glanced up at Puck a few times, but he was looking stonily ahead every single once. He was really angry about this, and she didn't like it. She could only think of one other time she'd gotten him mad for real, and then it was an explosive anger, not this... grudge.

When they got home, Bella opened the door for them, looking frazzled. "Oh, Sabrina, what did you do to yourself?" She wailed, seeing her best friend's state. "I can't take any more patients!"

"She'll be fine." Puck said. "She just needs to sleep and eat. A lot. But she can take care of herself."

"But what _happened_?" Daphne asked, appearing in the doorway, too. (What was she doing home? Shouldn't she be at the Fort?)

"I'll let Sabrina tell you that." Puck said, and he walked off with a smirk, leaving her to make a fool of herself.

* * *

It took Sabrina a week to recover enough to start doing simple magical things again. That was when she started full-out training again. She wanted to be ready to rescue the adults, whenever that happened (still no news). And since she was back on shuttle duty again, she had plenty of time to exercise both physically and magically, and a mostly empty space to do it in.

After she'd been doing that for almost another week, and the adults had been missing for three, they finally heard news.

"We found them." Mustardseed told Sabrina, bursting into the chicken house as soon as it got to the Golden Egg.

"Where?" Sabrina asked, bolting forward.

"The Little Mermaid has them."

"So when are we going in?" Sabrina asked.

"You're not." Mustardseed said. "You're staying right here and resting up. The rest of us are going in in three days."

"Oh, come on." Sabrina complained.

Mustardseed shook his head. "You haven't had enough time to rest, Sabrina. You need to heal more."

"Mustardseed." Sabrina said. "I'm going to go anyway. Unless you lock me up, I will be there. Maybe even if you do lock me up. So you may as well accept it. I'm good for more than just magic. And if you want to sneak in, I'm your girl."

Mustardseed sighed, hanging his head. He looked up at her and said, "Can't you sit this one out? Puck worries about you, and I'd hate for you to get hurt."

Sabrina shook her head. "Do you know what it's like to lose your parents twice, Mustardseed? I need to get them back. And that means Doing Something, not just sitting around."

"Fine." Mustardseed said. "But you have to be extremely careful. I don't want to have to face Puck if you die because I let you go."

Sabrina gave him a half smile. "Don't worry," she said, "Dying isn't in my plans at the moment."

"It isn't usually in anyone's." Mustardseed said gloomily, heading back out of the house.

* * *

They began planning that evening, and Puck, though he seemed extremely displeased that Sabrina was going, grudgingly admitted that the fact that she and Daphne had been to the Little Mermaid's stronghold was a huge bonus, and that maybe she'd do some good if she came with them.

Sabrina and Daphne both decided that their best course of action was to not mention how very little of the underwater castle they'd seen. It might backfire once they were there, but until then, they wanted to be positive they'd be included.

Two days later, they left for their parents, armed only with waterproof weapons (they'd tested Basil's wooden sword, figuring if it rusted, he'd need it the least, so Sabrina and Daphne had their swords, though no one else did), most of them wearing no armor. Sabrina felt a lot less prepared than last time. The loss of Tim had shaken her confidence a bit, and so had her mistake with the Barrier. But she was still determined to get her parents back.

"What happens if they expect us to know where we're going?" Daphne whispered to Sabrina.

"We play dumb." Sabrina whispered back. "Or fake it."

"Great plan." Daphne said sarcastically. "I never would have come up with that."

"Which is why I'm the brains of this operation." Sabrina retorted. "I'm so brilliant."

"Absolutely." Daphne rolled her eyes and sped up, walking faster until she was even with Art.

Sabrina scowled at the two of them. Art still hadn't told Daphne what he'd done, and the two of them hadn't spoken since the day of the battle. How he could just talk to her, when he'd killed one of her favorite people, without breaking down in guilt- It was disgusting.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Puck asked.

"Nothing." Sabrina said quickly. She wasn't going to ruin Art's life for him, no matter how angry she was Besides, if everyone treated him like some big shot hero, all the more guilt for him.

"Then why'd you look like someone just called you a big-eared lumpy squash?" Puck asked. "Don't be offended if someone did, of course. It's not like you can help it."

"Oh, thanks." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "And it's nothing, really. Just remembering-"

"The last time you looked in the mirror?" Puck cut in. "I don't blame you. If I had that face, I would, too."

"I give up." Sabrina said. "I was maybe going to tell you what I was thinking about, but you're just so determined to insult me you ruined it."

"Aw, come on." Puck said.

Sabrina shook her head silently, grateful for the excuse.

"What if I apologized?" Puck suggested, when it became clear that Sabrina wasn't going to say anything else.

Sabrina shook her head again. "Too late. You lost your chance."

"Why you gotta be like that?" Puck complained.

"Why do you have to insult me all the time?" Sabrina shot back. "I know I'm not hideous. And 'teasing' like that is what makes normal kids get anorexic or have plastic surgery or kill themselves or something."

"I don't mean it!" Puck protested. "It's not like I'm being serious! It's just like more pranks."

"Yeah, well, I hate those, too." Sabrina muttered.

"You call me names all the time, too!" Puck said, looking like he'd suddenly found something that would let him win.

"That's different." Sabrina said. "That starts with an argument. You just take every single opportunity to call me ugly or gross or smelly or nasty. I'm tired of it."

"Fine." Puck muttered, glaring at the ground as he walked. "Sorry."

"Just try to stop." Sabrina said back.

Puck nodded and didn't say anything, which was the best thing to say, so Sabrina didn't mind. They walked together in silence for a few minutes before Puck said, "You sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I remember how bad I was." Puck said. "It took me ages to feel normal again. You can't tell me you're at a hundred percent right now."

"I'm good enough." Sabrina said, though it was true that she still felt weak and jiggly, and if she tried to do more than a few things gravity-wise, she'd be weak as a two weeks old cut flower.

"I think you should sit this out." Puck said. "There's still time for you to head back."

Sabrina shook her head. "I'm not going home 'til my family is coming with me."

"Fine." Puck said. "But if you die, don't say I didn't warn you."

Sabrina laughed grimly. "I'll remember that. Try not to gloat too much over my grave."

"Come on." Puck complained. "Do I get _one_ 'I told you so'?"

"Maybe if you're very nice to me." Sabrina said. "I don't think you can be."

"I'll try." Puck promised. "But I think it'll be easier if I'm not around you, so I'm going to head this way." He pointed to the left and wandered away from Sabrina.

"That's not being nice!" Sabrina called after him, but she didn't mind, really.

Behind her, there was a quiet snicker.

She turned around and saw Red, walking alone in the crowd, and grinned. "Hey."

"Hi." Red said, walking a bit faster to catch up to Sabrina.

"Listen, Red, I... um... I owe you an apology." Sabrina said, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"For what?" Red asked, brow furrowing.

"For what I called you." Sabrina said. "I was overreacting, and you weren't really being even that rude, I was just... I wasn't thinking straight. And I'm sorry."

"No, I deserved it." Red said. "I wasn't thinking right, either. And it set me back."

"Well, I'm glad you're normal again, but I was still a jerk." Sabrina shrugged. "Accept my apology?"

Red nodded, and Sabrina wrapped one arm around the smaller girl in an awkward leaning down walking hug that didn't last very long, but it was the thought that counted. Then they separated, and walked together without speaking, both just listening to the chatter of the other kids. They hadn't put an age limit on who could come, though Mustardseed had devised a test to determine who wasn't going to be jumping to their death.

"We're here." A voice called from the front. Sabrina didn't know whose it was, but she headed to the front of the group anyway, as everyone else stopped walking.

"Now what?" Puck asked.

Daphne and Sabrina looked at each other and grinned, and Daphne said, "Now we go fishing."

"Fishing for what?" Kaytee asked. "Mermaids?"

Daphne shook her head. "We're fishing for wish-fish."

While Daphne was talking, Sabrina had pulled out a collapsible fishing rod found in the part of the basement Puck wasn't occupying and was now stringing a piece of bait- old pizza- on the hook. She sat down on the bank and looked at the others with raised eyebrows. "You might want to sit down." She said. "This could take a while.

Take a while it did, and Sabrina was grateful they'd left early (and also that Daphne had brought food). Some of the younger kids had drifted off to sleep when Sabrina sat upright, staring at the pole. Daphne joined her, and soon all the others had gathered around, too.

There had been a tug on the line.


	111. In Which There's Another Dramatic Rescue

**AN~ ****Reminder:**

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**.**

_**The name of this story is scheduled to change. This is a warning, and I will not be changing the title quite yet, because people will no longer be able to find it. Soon, though (in approximately two chapters), this story will be called 'The Long and Winding Road'.**_

**.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Oh, gosh, I can't pick one. Archer Princess gave me one with the benefit of 'Previously the Never Gonna Happen Challenge', which is great, but Psycho Crazy Curl Girl and PenguinLoverGurl both had great ones. I think I'll pull pieces from all of them. So three winners.  
**

New QotD: You've been locked in a knitting factory and forced to make sweater-vests for the rest of your life by the owners. How do you escape? You only have things you'd find in a knitting factory to do this.

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**_Bluedragon:_ Glad you like the fanfic, and I feel that I disagree with your opinion on this pairing slightly, mostly because your only argument against it is 'bled' when you can call them 'purple' just as easily. Though I am a bigger fan of Red/Basil. Do you have an account to do the challenge with?**

**_I'm srry:_ You're kind of late. Over a hundred chapters late, actually. **

**_Agd: _I agree that the name could be kept because this is a big story, but the whole reasoning behind it was that Sabrina would never become an Everafter. And she did. About the previous chapter: she stopped expanding the barrier 'cause she'd reached her marker.**

**_oah ehm gee:_ Thanks! EVERY DAY? Holy crow that would be a lot of writing.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ Took me a second to figure out why TUG was relevant... I shall fix the capitalization error. I'm surprised Sabrina hasn't done that BEFORE. QotD: I think you did a pretty good job.**

* * *

Sabrina tugged at the line, but whatever was on the other end (she really hoped it was the fish they were trying for) was pulling back just as hard. Maybe two weeks ago she could have gotten it, but she was still feeling a little rubbery.

"I- can't..." She grunted, pulling at the fishing pole.

Daphne joined her, wrapping her arms around her big sister and digging her heels in as Sabrina yanked. Finally, with a loud popping splash, the two fell backwards, a fish landing on top of them.

"Oh, not you two again." A peeved voice said as the girls righted themselves. "Don't tell me you're going to end up as bad as your uncle."

"Actually," Daphne said, dusting herself off, "he's part of what we bothered you for. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't important, of course, but our family is being held captive in the Little Mermaid's stronghold."

The fish looked around at the group and groaned. "Don't tell me you're all Grimms. You people bother me so much. Almost as much as that Nottingham fellow."

"Oh, no, but their families are gone too." Daphne assured him.

Sabrina, though, had had her interest piqued by the second half of the comment. "Nottingham?" She asked. "What's he doing here?"

"Same thing as you." The fish rolled his eyes- an interesting sight- "Bothering me to be able to breathe underwater. I can do so much more, but all you people want is to swim."

"Other wishes from you tend to go horribly wrong, though." Mustardseed observed. "Wouldn't you rather we just ask for something simple and then not ask you to undo it?"

"Well... maybe." The fish huffed. "But it would be nice to use my full skills again, once in a while."

"Show-off." Sabrina muttered.

"Takes one to know one, sweetheart." The fish shot back. "Can we get on with this?"

"I wish we could all breathe underwater." Daphne said.

On everyone's heads appeared starfish, and the fish jumped back into the water muttering about young people interrupting his important schedule. Sabrina would have yelled something after him, but she'd remembered the side effect of not being able to breathe above water, and was in the process of getting in the Hudson herself, into the blessedly cool water and the beautiful ability to breathe. The others followed, some catching on faster than others.

"Where to?" Mustardseed asked once everyone had been accounted for in the murky river water.

Daphne pointed upstream, and she and Sabrina headed off in what, if they remembered correctly, was the right direction, the others following them. They were almost positive it had been very pressed up against the old edge of the barrier. But the further they swam, the more worried Sabrina was that she'd been wrong. She was just about to admit they'd made a mistake when the castle became visible through the silt. They must have gone under further south than they'd thought.

"Where are we going now?" Mustardseed asked.

Sabrina pointed around back, to where she knew the Crustacean had been kept. She figured it was as good a place as any. "I don't know if we can get in from outside this way." She said. "But we should definitely not go in. From what I remember, the place was swarming with merfolk."

Daphne nodded. "Surprised we haven't seen any yet."

Puck appeared out of nowhere, snickering, and said, "I know why."

"Why?" Sabrina asked, rolling her eyes.

Wordlessly, Puck pointed down to the riverbed.

Below them was a rather soggy picnic blanket covered in equally soggy food. On it sat two people: the Mermaid herself and Nottingham. They were holding hands.'

"Holy-" Daphne burst out, shoving her hand in her mouth, and thankfully cutting off any noise that might have alerted the happy couple.

Sabrina's eyes bugged out slightly less than most people's, because she had had a hint a while ago, but she was still shocked. And slightly disgusted.

"She looks like she's lost weight." Daphne muttered to Sabrina.

Sabrina nodded back and began swimming off, still staring at the duo below her. Most of the others were doing much the same.

When they reached the far side of the castle, Sabrina began concentrating on the shadows around her, looking for any with legs. Hopefully, if she found them fast enough, nobody would know just how little of the castle they'd seen. Most of them were merfolk, but through one window she saw a flash of chain, and attached to it, legs.

"We go in here." She said confidently, pointing to the window. "I can find it from there."

"You're sure?" Mustardseed asked. "It's been a long time since you were here."

"I'm sure." Sabrina reassured him. "I'm double-checking everything."

"Oh, good." Mustardseed said, and he relaxed suddenly. "Here I was afraid you were doing all this by memory."

Daphne rolled her eyes, swimming through the window. "Would we be that stupid?" She asked.

"Yes." Puck muttered, but the girls ignored him.

After another ten minutes or so of Sabrina and Daphne pretending to know what they were doing, they'd reached what was definitely a prison, even if it was made out of some very odd materials, with rows of stone and concrete bars crisscrossing each other, mixed with some rustproof metals. Most of the cells were filled, and most of their occupants were the adults they'd come for, all with their own head-starfish. There were no guards in sight, which worried Sabrina.

"Mom!" Daphne shrieked quietly, swimming over to her mother, in a cell nearby.

"Girls!" Veronica whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to rescue you." Daphne said.

"You shouldn't have come." Henry scolded. "What if you'd been hurt?"

Sabrina shrugged, looking for a way to let them out, and said, "It was only a matter of time, anyway. It's just us kids and the old people you left at the fort. We had to do something."

Most of the kids had run to their parents, but a few (Sabrina, Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, and several of the older, more reserved children) were searching for keys, or weaknesses.

"Daphne could always grow something through the place." Sabrina suggested, and she thought she saw her sister's face brighten.

Mustardseed shook his head. "Too dangerous. For one thing, something could fall on someone, or we could bring the whole place down, and it would also alert people to our presence."

"Alert people to our presence. Who talks like that?" Puck asked, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of that, though, why aren't there any guards?"

"The Mermaid threw everyone out so that she could have a date." Uncle Jake said. "I heard the guards complaining about it."

"Too bad they didn't leave the keys behind, right?" Puck joked.

"I've got it!" Peaseblossom shouted from the corner.

"The keys?" Puck asked rather stupidly.

"No, but I do have a way to get them out." Peaseblossom said, grinning.

"So what is it?" Sabrina asked impatiently.

"We'll use Daphne's plant thing." Peaseblossom said. "But we'll use it to hold the place steady while Art breaks it down."

"Will that work?" Sabrina asked dubiously. "He's not at full strength, you know, after..." She trailed off, nodding to Art's lopsided chest muscles.

"I can do it." Art said, though he didn't sound as confident as he might have. "And if you messed with gravity a bit, it'd be easier."

Mustardseed nodded. "It doesn't just have to be him, actually. We can all help. Especially those of us who can transform. As long as Daphne can make sure the structure of the building isn't compromised, we don't have to be careful."

Daphne nodded and closed her eyes. There was a quiet rumble, and then, worming their way through cracks in the building, came tree roots by the hundreds, securing themselves around everything not living. When they stopped moving,about fifteen minutes later, the outer walls and the ceiling were as much root as they were building.

Once the roots were still, everyone set about destroying things. The fairies and Daphne transformed into things like whales and sharks and began ramming the walls, Art shouldered against a large concrete block and sent it toppling, Sabrina switched the gravitational forces of two walls near her to each other and upped their pulls so that they crashed into each other in the center of the hallway, and everyone else started clearing away rubble and pulling adults out of the wreckage.

They were done in twenty minutes.

"That was surprisingly easy." Daphne said, dusting off her hands, then realizing what she was doing and putting her hands down.

"Or not." Sabrina said, her eyes widening as she stared at something behind Daphne.

Daphne spun and saw a frighteningly large crowd of armored merfolk, spears at the ready.

"You just had to say something, Marshmallow." Puck muttered, pulling out his sword.

"Sorry!" Daphne protested, handing Henry her sword and pulling out a dagger.

The other kids handed their parents weapons similarly, and they began to battle. It was interesting, fighting underwater: everyone moved much slower and tired more quickly, even the merfolk, who had the obvious advantage, having lived in this environment their whole lives. Sabrina lost a lot of her advantage with the lack of speed, and she got sliced in the wing, a billow of red exploding from between the black feathers. Eventually, and she wasn't sure how, they found themselves all exploding to the sky and swimming as fast as they could to the shore, the merfolk following and throwing spears, seeming reluctant to break the surface. Sabrina peeled off her starfish and gasped, breathing in air for the first time in too long, and dragged herself onto the shore, spreading her wings out on the grass and rocks.

She was one of the last ones up, because her wings had slowed her down a lot, and they weren't letting her stay put. Daphne was already dragging her back, away from the spears the merfolk were throwing, pulling her to her feet and forcing her to run, even though all she wanted to do was lie down and never get up again. She'd decided that she was not a creature of water.

They retreated a lot further than Sabrina would have liked before she was allowed to sit down in the sun and spread her wings so they could dry. Maybe if that happened, they'd feel less like dead weights on her back.

"What were you kids thinking, coming after us like that?" A woman, probably Eve's mom (she was glaring directly at her) shouted. "That was idiotic! You could have been killed!"

Eve shrugged, brushing off her mom's shouts in a way Sabrina wished she could react to her father, and said, "But we didn't. And now you're back."

"What were you guys thinking, getting kidnapped, anyway?" Daphne said, crossing her arms. "We wouldn't have had to be risky if you weren't in trouble."

Veronica, who had been glaring with the other parents, burst out laughing, joined by Jake. Most of the adults gave them betrayed looks, but some others joined.

"Sorry." Veronica apologized. "It's just... they have a point. And... Oh, gosh, girls, it's good to see you again." She bundled her children into her arms, smiling.

Sabrina draped her arms around her mother limply, and Daphne squeezed, though not as hard as she usually would.

"How'd you guys get captured, anyway?" Peaseblossom asked, looking at her mom suspiciously. "You're better than that."

Charming shrugged. "We were unprepared, surprised, and overpowered because of that. And most of us didn't have our weapons on hand."

"Well, I think we-" Puck began, puffing his chest up.

"Shouldn't gloat." Mustardseed cut in, glaring at his brother.

"Fine." Puck muttered, looking down and kicking at a tuft of grass.

"Sorry we weren't here sooner." Annie apologized, looking up at her dad as she hugged him. "We didn't know where you were, though."

Her dad kissed her forehead silently.

"Well." Robin Hood said. "I think we should head back to a safe haven now, and continue our discussion there."

Sabrina groaned, but stood, and began walking, held up in part by her mother. It was a long, slow walk home, with a lot but not enough stops to rest, and by the time they'd made it back to the Grimm's house (Sabrina had wanted to call the chicken house, but Rapunzel stopped her, saying it was unfair), it was twilight. Bella greeted them with a dry roast turkey (cooking was not one of her strong suits) and empty beds, because she and Nurse Sprat had spent the day moving the remaining injured people back to the hospital tent in the fort.

It was decided that it was too late for the people who lived in the Golden Egg to return home, and because Sabrina was injured, she was sent to the hospital tent to make room for them to stay. She slept long and deeply, and when she woke, she was stiff and uncomfortable and not at all rested, but allowed to go home with instructions to leave that bandage on her wing and not use it for at least week- no exceptions, and no complaining.

On her way back to Charming's mirror and her own, she passed Mr. Seven, who was shuffling from foot to foot nervously.

"What's up?" She asked him. "You look like you're expecting to get slapped."

"Well... figuratively." Mr. Seven said. "I have a date with Morgan, and I have something important to ask her."

"Wait." Sabrina said, putting her hands up. "You and Morgan le Fay are _dating_? What?"_  
_

Mr. Seven nodded. "We have been for a while now. I don't know what she sees in me, but Mordred hasn't killed me yet, so I suppose it might just be that. After all, she could have anyone she wanted."

Sabrina grinned, walking on. "If it helps, I think you're one of the nicest guys in town. And good luck with your question!"

"Thank you!" Mr. Seven called, though he still looked nervous

Sabrina walked off, wondering what the question was.

* * *

It had been almost a week of full-on training, with the adults trying their best to plan out the Scarlet Hand's next move, except for Mr. Seven and Morgan Le Faye. His question had been a wedding proposal, and the two were so wrapped up in each other that they were ignoring everyone else. Puck had been watching them and envying Mr. Seven his courage, or watching Sabrina and wondering if it was worth it to bring something up, for most of the week.

The previous day, Puck had actually talked to Mr. Seven. He'd seen the boy watching them and headed over to find out why Puck had been staring for several days.

"What's up?" Mr. Seven asked, far more amiably than Puck would have expected.

"Um..." Puck felt himself reddening. "Nothing, sorry. I'll leave now."

"No, what is it?" Mr. Seven asked, waving to Morgan. She nodded and smiled, blowing him a kiss before she walked off.

"It's just..." Puck trailed off again. There was no good way to explain what he had been doing there, nothing that would both explain what he was up to and save face. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm jealous, I guess."

Mr. Seven smiled. "Morgan is quite a catch." He said proudly.

Puck shook his head. "No, it's not Morgan. I mean, she's great and all, she's just... not my type. It's..."

"Sabrina?" Mr. Seven asked, giving Puck a smile that would have bothered him if he wasn't so confused.

He wanted to slam his face into the wall. Was he that obvious? "I just..." He started, "How do you do it? Just up and tell someone you care about them?"

"Pretty much just like that." Mr. Seven said.

"But that's so embarrassing!" Puck complained.

"Well, of course it is." Mr. Seven said. "If love was easy, it wouldn't be special."

"...What?" Puck asked, brow furrowing.

"Why do you think we all crave love so much?" Mr. Seven asked. "It's because it's special, it's rare, and it's something we have to work to keep, or get. So you have to put yourself out there. You have to lay yourself bare and hope that the person you love feels the same way, because if you can't be vulnerable with the person you love, then your relationship will never work."

"So I just... go talk to her?" Puck asked incredulously.

Mr. Seven nodded. "Pick a time when you won't be interrupted and just tell her. It'll be the hardest thing you'll ever do, but if you can, you're braver than most."

Puck stared at him. "I don't think I like this."

"You can do it." Mr. Seven assured him.

Puck took a deep breath. "All right. I'll try, I guess."

Mr. Seven watched him walk off with a small smile on his face. "Go get her, Puck." He muttered, then headed back to find Morgan.


	112. Together At Last

**AN~ ****Reminder: **

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_**The name of this story is scheduled to change. This is a warning, and I will not be changing the title quite yet, because people will no longer be able to find it. Soon, though (probably next chapter), the Never Gonna Happen Challenge will be renamed 'The Long and Winding Road'.**_

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**Also a shout-out to Lara D, who wanted that as her prize. This chapter is dedicated to her. I hope you appreciate it, Lara. I gave you the fangirl's biggest chapter.**

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**The Winner of Last QotD: Archer Princess, who had the longest and most detailed escape plan.  
**

New QotD: Given the opportunity to design the interior of your house (maximum sixteen rooms) with no budget, what would you put in it?

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**_Maddy:_ I know. But know what's funny? You're the first person in over one hundred chapters to point this out to me. I'm well aware of this rule, and you're probably going to be kind of ticked because I'm ignoring it. I realized at around chapter thirty that I'd been using periods instead of commas, and instead of replacing them all, I decided to be consistent and use periods for the rest of the story (and most of my other fanfictions). Also, as we're pointing out grammatical errors: in your review you said 'other then that' when you meant other 'than that'. ;)**

**_mj:_ Thank you very much! I hope this was soon enough for you.**

**_dfzxv of chapter 76:_ I know. It's been pointed out like a billion times. I just haven't gotten that far in my editing process. But I'm glad you like it. :)**

**_oah ehm gee: _Glad you liked it. :) QotD: I hope your knitting factory is in the woods.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ But where do you get these things inside a knitting factory? It's good that it's simple, 'cause that means it's plausible. I love our little Mermaid and Nottingham, 'cause we all know he likes his woman large. I was thinking the same thing about the fight scene, but I was too lazy.**

* * *

"Puck, your breath smells like sardines." Daphne said, waving at the air in front of her nose and pushing Puck away from her shoulder, which he was staring over in an attempt to see what she was writing. "Go brush your teeth, then you can look at my diary."

"I like sardines." Puck said. "And you just took all the fun out of it."

Daphne shrugged. "That's your problem. And I like sardines, too, but not when I smell them on your breath. Go brush your teeth."

"Fine." Puck rolled his eyes and stood, heading for the bathroom.

Sabrina was already in the bathroom, spreading toothpaste on her brush. Her hair was wet, and it dripped down onto her shirt, making the fabric stick to her torso. Puck licked his lips nervously before heading into the bathroom and joining her.

She just stood there on the other side of the sink, brushing her teeth, with no idea how attractive she was, not saying anything to him (well, duh. She had toothpaste in her mouth), and he suddenly couldn't stand it anymore. Mr. Seven had said to jump right into it, so he would.

"Sabrina?" He asked, taking a deep breath. "Can I... talk to you for a second? About something important?"

Sabrina turned to him and raised her eyebrows, her mouth still full of toothpaste. He could still back out. Make something up. Insult her.

But no. He was braver than that. He took another deep breath. "I... I like you. A lot."

"Wel'f 'course y'do, dummy." Sabrina said around her toothbrush. "We're friends."

"No, I mean like _like_ you like you." Puck said.

Sabrina stared at him for what seemed like a very long time to the reddening Puck, her toothbrush still hanging out of her mouth, her hand attached to it limply. Eventually, she took the toothbrush out of her mouth and put it on the sink, leaned over slowly, and spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the drain. Then she looked back up at him and said, "What?"

"I've liked you for ages." Puck continued in a rush. There was no turning back now. "And I wasn't going to tell you, only with Seven and all the times you've nearly died I changed my mind. I don't care if you don't like me back anymore. At least this way you know your options are open. I mean, gosh, Grimm, what's not to like? You're smart even when you're stupid, you're brave, you're strong, you're so sexy it drives me insane, and you don't even realize what you're doing to me half the time, and you'll do anything for the people you care about, and you care so much even if you act like you don't, and you're so much more than you were when we met, but you're still the same and it's amazing."

He'd been looking down the whole time he said this, afraid to see the pity or disgust or just lack of similar feelings on her face, gripping the bowl of the sink tightly. But after he'd finished, he felt a hand cover his, and he looked up. Sabrina was just as red as he was, but she was grinning.

"I like you, too." She said quietly. "Like that. Is it my turn to make a speech?"

Puck nodded, his face cooling a little and a lopsided smile slipping onto his face.

"All right." She said. "Puck, you drive me insane. You're a childish prankster who couldn't be serious if it would save your mother's life. You're immature and you act stupid all the time, and you'll do anything to save face." Puck felt himself shrinking at this, but she was still smiling. "I love that about you." She said, her hand squeezing his. "I wish I could be like that. And that's not all you are. You're caring, even though you don't let other people see it, you're brave, you're smart- don't deny it- and you always know how to set me back on the right track."

Puck stared at her, his smile growing. Her hand was still over his, and he slid his thumb over hers. "So... what do we do now?" He asked.

Sabrina smiled crookedly. "I think you can figure it out, stubbytoes."

They leaned forward simultaneously and pressed their lips together. She tasted like toothpaste.

When they parted, Sabrina made a face. "You need to brush your teeth before we do that again. How many sardines did you _eat_?"

"Umm..." Puck said, looking towards the ceiling, "A lot." He picked up his toothbrush and began spreading toothpaste on it. "I was hungry."

"So sardines." Sabrina rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Brush long and hard, buddy. Your breath is rancid."

He did, and when he was done, they pressed their lips together again. This time she smiled as they did it.

When they pulled apart, Sabrina looked at him and asked, "So... what now?"

"Hm?" Puck asked, running his thumb up and down along hers. This was much easier than he'd thought it would be.

"We can't tell people." Sabrina said. "I mean, we could, but... well, half of everyone would be all 'I told you so', and my parents would not be OK with me dating a guy that lives in the same house as me."

Puck, caught up in the fact that she'd just said 'dating', took a few seconds to answer, then shrugged. "I guess we keep it a secret, then. Shouldn't be too hard."

Sabrina nodded and pulled her hand off his. She still had a big grin on her face, as did Puck. They'd just left the bathroom when they bumped into Bella.

"What were you two doing in there?" Bella teased. "Making out?"

Sabrina and Puck scoffed, though not as much as they normally would, and looked slantwise at each other, trying not to blush.

Bella put a hand to her mouth and shrieked (thankfully it was a quiet shriek, and muffled by her hand), "Ohmigosh you _were_!"

Sabrina pulled Bella around the corner and pushed her against the wall. "You can't tell _anyone_, OK? Nobody."

Bella nodded. "Fine. But you have to tell me everything tonight."

Sabrina made a face and nodded. "Fine."

Bella sauntered off, humming, and Sabrina watched her go, shaking her head. "What were you saying about this being easy?" She asked Puck dryly.

Puck shrugged. "So I was wrong."

"Hey, what brought this on?" Sabrina asked suddenly. "Less than a month ago you were telling me about some girl you liked and assuring me we were just friends. And I did the same thing. So what made you change your mind?"

Puck shrugged. "Hope." He said. "Stupid hope. Also I talked to Mr. Seven and he convinced me it was worth it. I kind of figured that if I lied to you, then there was plenty of chance you lied to me, too."

"Oh." Sabrina said quietly.

"Plus I just wanted to get it off my chest." Puck said. "I was tired of secrets."

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded. "It just seems kind of... sudden. And random."

"I know." Puck shrugged. "But that's what I'm all about. Surprises."

"Well, this was a good one." Sabrina smiled at him crookedly. She ran her hand down his arm and said, "I've got to go. See you later, ferretface."

"Not if I see you first, furryfeet!" Puck called after her, a stupid little grin on his face.

* * *

"Come here." Bella told Sabrina that afternoon. "We're doing a checkup on your wing. Now."

Sabrina had a funny feeling that 'checkup' translated to 'talk about your love life', but she went along with Bella anyway.

Sure enough, as soon as the door to Bella's room shut behind them, she rounded on Sabrina and said, "So. Tell me everything."

"Not much to tell." Sabrina said with a shrug. "He told me he liked me today, and I told him I liked him, and we kissed, and he tasted like sardines, and we're not telling anyone we're together. Have you talked to Wendell yet?"

Bella shook her head, "No." She said. "Today is about you. Today we're discussing my best friend and the fact that she and the love of her life have finally admitted they're meant for each other."

"I think you're exaggerating just a teensy bit." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "For one thing, I'm not in love. This is a crush. I mean, maybe someday, but... I think I'm too young to be in love. And for another thing, how do you know we're meant for each other?"

"Because you are." Bella said. "Everyone can see it except you two."

"Listen, if we have to have this conversation, can you at least actually check out my wing?" Sabrina asked. "I want to fly again."

"Sure." Bella slipped around behind Sabrina and began examining the large gash in her wing. "So talk. Even you have to be dying to gush."

Sabrina grinned. "Maybe a bit."

"How was it?" Bella asked.

"Nice." Sabrina said. "Even if he did taste like fish. And after he brushed his teeth, it was better. He's... I dunno. Even when we're arguing, we... fit, somehow." She drew in a hissing breath as Bella touched her cut.

"Sorry." Bella said.

"It's OK." Sabrina assured her. "Just hurts a bit."

"So-" Bella started again, but Sabrina interrupted.

"Can we talk about you for just a bit?" Sabrina asked. "I'm not exactly... comfortable... with Puck and me yet."

"Fine." Bella said, and Sabrina could tell she was rolling her eyes.

"Have you talked to him yet?" Sabrina asked.

Bella shook her head. "What would I say? He's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want me unless I can promise I only want him. And I can't do that yet. I'm just... confused. I mean, what if this happens again? What if he's right, and I _am_ just using him as a backup plan? Am I nothing but a flirt, Sabrina?"

"You're a lot more than that." Sabrina said. "And I can't really help you work out your feelings, but I can tell you that, among other things, you're an excellent nurse, my best friend, and a caring person. It's not your fault your emotions are a bit flighty. I mean, you're fourteen! How steady are you supposed to be?"

"You've managed." Bella said. "I mean, you've liked Puck for... how long now?"

"A couple years." Sabrina said. "It's not like he's the only person I've ever liked, though."

"That kid from the orphanage?" Bella asked.

Sabrina nodded. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened with us, if we'd been able to stay together. But I'm never going to see him again, and Puck is here, now, and he can be everything I need."

"I wish I could think like that." Bella said sadly. "It seems like I'm never happy with what I have."

"How do you mean?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, for one thing, I couldn't just stick with Wendell. I had to go notice other guys, too." Bella said with disgust. "And I'm the best healer we have here except Nurse Sprat, and I'm not happy with that, either!"

"You can't help it, Bella." Sabrina soothed. "But what do you mean, not happy with that?"

"What we're doing here isn't good enough." Bella said. "I could have you almost better right now if I knew what I was doing. Or even if I could use magic. But I can't 'cause we're rationing it and I don't. So you're stuck on the ground, and there are people who die because I can't be there to save them!"

"So... what do you want to do?" Sabrina asked.

Bella shrugged and blushed, looking down. "I want to be a doctor. A surgeon if I can. But there's no way that'll happen, even if I survive long enough to go through all that school."

"I could..." Sabrina started, "I could let you out, you know. If you wanted to go."

Bella smiled. "That would be the most amazing thing you could do for me, but I'd still have to pay for it. That's another nine years of school after high school. I can't get a job here, and there aren't any local scholarships I can get. I won't get any money from my parents, and Rumpelstiltskin's as likely to spin me some gold as he is to give your grandma a kiss."

"We'll figure out a way." Sabrina promised. "I don't know how, but you'll be a doctor someday if I have anything to say about it."

Bella laughed. "What, you going to threaten the board into giving me a full ride?"

Sabrina nodded and grinned. "I think I can be frightening enough, don't you?" She pulled out her sword. "I won't hurt them too much. They'll maybe be short a toe or two once I'm done with them if they don't cooperate, but nothing they need."

Bella snickered. "That might work. But it's only our last ditch plan, OK?"

"Sure." Sabrina said. "We'll start with legal ways."

"Mostly." Bella said. "Is blackmail illegal?"

"You know, I have no idea." Sabrina said thoughtfully. "I'll have to check."

Bella, when she was done laughing, said, "But back to you and Puck."

"I'm nervous." Sabrina confessed. "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean, what do you do now?" Bella asked.

"Well..." Sabrina shrugged, running a hand over her neck, "What do couples _do_? And what if we do it all wrong? What if _I_ do it all wrong? What if we try this, and it goes awful, and then we're all awkward?"

"Every couple does different things." Bella said. "Though most of them kiss and hold hands and things like that. And I'm betting Puck and you have about the same amount of experience, since he was a little kid for all of four thousand years. He'll probably be just as nervous as you are. I can't promise you guys will never break up, or that you won't be awkward around each other, but I know that you like him, and he likes you, and that if you both want this to work enough, it will."

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked. "There's no way you can promise two people can make it work. I mean, do you know how many people divorce per year?"

"Yeah, well, some of them probably made a mistake or genuinely didn't love each other." Bella shrugged. "But I kind of think that if you care enough about the relationship, you'll make it work, because you'll be willing to make sacrifices for each other. The only thing that would make you guys break up unless one of you does something really idiotic is if you're too stubborn to compromise with each other."

"Yeah, and we're both some of the most stubborn people on the planet." Sabrina said.

Bella shrugged again. "I guess you'll just have to decide if it's more important for you to be right or together."

Sabrina sighed, puffing out her cheeks as she did so. "This is going to be hard." She muttered.

Bella nodded. "It's worth it, though. Wendell and I..."

"You know, it's obvious you really like him." Sabrina said. "Why don't you tell him again?"

"Because I can't promise I'll never like someone else again, too!" Bella said.

Sabrina shrugged. "Well, do you like someone else right now?"

Bella shook her head. "I'm over Marcus, mostly."

"So... maybe it's worth it." Sabrina suggested. "To try, even if it doesn't work out. Just be honest with him."

"What?" Bella asked. "Tell him I can't control who I like, but I just like him right now, and I liked him best even before?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Sabrina said. "I mean, if you're sure that he's the one you'll like most even if you do notice someone else..."

"All right." Bella agreed. "I'll talk to him, I guess."

Sabrina smiled. "Good. It'd be weird if you were single and I wasn't."

"We can go on double dates!" Bella exclaimed.

"Yeahno." Sabrina said quickly. "Nobody can know we're together."

"Why not?" Bella asked, pouting.

"Do you know how awkward that would be?" Sabrina asked. "Everyone would be all like 'I told you so' or 'aw so cute, we knew you'd be together', and even if they weren't going to do that, Puck and I live in the same house! My parents would explode!"

"Yeah, I guess." Bella made a face. "But... you're really going to make me keep this a secret?"

"Yes." Sabrina said firmly. "Speaking of which, I've got to go see him. How's my wing?"

"I don't want you flying yet, but you should start stretching it, so it's not stiff." Bella said, then grinned. "Have fun on your date!"

Sabrina rolled her eyes, masking her nervousness, and went to meet Puck on the rooftop.


	113. A Giant Problem

**AN~ Sorry for the long wait, guys. I'd give you the full story, but I betcha don't care. In recompense, though, you get a whole extra two hundred words after this mega-long round of review replies.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: allissocoollike. It was going to be that anonymous reviewer down there, but I can't spell that name, so I went with my second choice. Step up and claim your prize!  
**

New QotD: What bothers you about my story? What do you want me to change? How can I improve it?

**.**

**_M: _Chapter 47: It's not a very smart thing to say. Chapter 115: I don't know how big your poodle is, but I'm not really scared. Also I'd like to remind you that they're keeping their relationship a SECRET.**

**_greekfreek101:_ Chapter 42: I know. You're only the fiftieth person to 'inform' me of this. I knew already, but this is not a story about Greek mythology, you may have noticed. This is a story about fairy tales, and in my universe, before there were Everafters there were really powerful beings who humans created myths about, some of which were wrong. Chapter 48: But she'd be SUCH a Mary Sue then.**

**_lsimhbinfefmtalol:_ That's quite a name you have there. I know it was expected, but I figured that I don't have to make EVERYTHING a surprise. Sardines because I had something else but I forgot it, and sardines don't smell to great. Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, by the by. The Scarlet Hand is regrouping. They just got all their prisoners stolen from under their nose, so Mirror is probably having the ones responsible punished. And maybe Bella can. QotD: Lots of portals in your house.**

**_Danstheman:_ Yes they are. Have you reviewed before?**

**_querty:_ 1) don't go announcing your age on the internet. 2) what does that have to do with anything?**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ It took me a while, but I did it RIGHT! Bella has a blind spot when it comes to Wendell that probably has something to do with self esteem issues. But that is good advice. QotD: That's a clever idea. The outside being all beat down and the inside being not. It'd keep people from breaking into your house, though you might get some very surprised squatters. Also: That took you two whole reviews. Wow.**

**_Agd:_ Gee, glad you liked it... XD I'd just like to say that my Puckabrina timeline was a lot more realistic than most fanfics. And it's not like there weren't moments. Bella has maybe possibly realized that she and Wendell will never be perfect, and if she waits for the promise that they will, she's going to be lonely forever. Also Annie and Marcus make me happy. :)**

* * *

"Hey." Sabrina said, slipping out her window and sitting down next to Puck.

"Hi." Puck said, looking up at her with a smile and patting the shingles next to him.

Sabrina sat down, at the same distance away from Puck that she would normally be, and reached her hand out tentatively. Puck slipped his fingers between hers after a few seconds (right before she was about to pull her hand back), and they just sat there for a bit, not saying anything.

Sabrina felt oddly uncomfortable. What were she and Puck supposed to do, now that they were... more than friends? Were they supposed to kiss a lot? Hug all the time? Rub noses and hold hands and call each other snuggle-bottom? 'Caress each other's faces'? And was she supposed to talk to him different, now? Was she still allowed to call him an idiot?

Puck wasn't saying anything, either. Was she doing something wrong? Was he upset with her? Did he wish he hadn't told her? She'd been walking on air most of the day (_he likes me, he likes me!_), but now she was definitely back on earth. Funny that being with the person who had made her that happy in the first place was the thing that was bringing her down.

Puck was the one that broke the silence. "You as nervous as I am?" He asked.

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "I mean, assuming you're really friggin' nervous."

"That sounds about right." Puck answered.

"Wanna just... not change anything?" Sabrina suggested.

"Sounds good." Puck said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "But if I wanted to kiss you..." He leaned in a little closer to her, cautiously.

Sabrina looked at him with a smile. "That'd be nice." She said. "Once in a while."

"Well, yeah." Puck said. "I mean, I'm not going to have my mouth glued to yours all the time or anything. That'd be kind of gross."

And with that, they were normal again. He did kiss her, and it was tentative, a half a second of lips together before they were apart again, and the night air seemed colder than it should be on them, though their clasped hands radiated warmth through Sabrina's arm and into the rest of her body. It was a beautiful night, and she'd gladly stay out in it forever, just holding hands with Puck and talking a bit about stupid stuff- how the bats overhead really deserved to have some foil thrown in their path, the shapes in the stars, and what the nighttime clouds looked like, the newest word Daphne had invented (splink). Sometime during this, Sabrina found herself leaning her head against Puck's shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her.

She kissed him goodnight, before heading in, and she noticed that his smell clung to her, a thick basement smell like cold concrete mixed with dirt and moss and mustard, with just the barest hint of mint still glimmering through, and it rose when she moved.

She shifted around a lot before falling asleep that night.

* * *

By the time she woke up the next morning, Bella was already gone. To talk to Wendell, she hoped. Everyone else was downstairs, and Mr. Seven and Morgan were there, with their serious faces on.

"What's going on?" She asked, leaning on the wall across the room from Puck. She really wanted to head to where he was, but she held herself in check.

"Mr. Seven has a plan to draw the Hand out of hiding." Daphne filled her in.

"OK, and it is...?" Sabrina asked.

"Stage a wedding." Morgan said. "They like to ambush us when we're enjoying ourselves, so we'll have a wedding and pretend to be completely defenseless, and then when they show up we beat the pants off them."

Sabrina blinked. "You sure you want to do that to your wedding? It seems like it'd kind of ruin your big day."

Morgan shrugged. "They're going to attack anyway. It's better that we're prepared and let them think we're not than to genuinely not be."

"You sure they'll fall for it?" Veronica asked. "I mean, they've done the 'attack at a wedding' bit before. What if they decide it's old and don't do it again?"

Mr. Seven grinned. "Then we brought our swords to the wedding anyway, and we have a good time, and nobody dies, and we still don't know where the Hand is."

"All right." Veronica said raising her hands. "If you're sure."

"Absolutely." Morgan said, wrapping her arm around Mr. Seven's short head.

Daphne sighed and smiled, watching them.

Sabrina's fingers twitched as she watched the two interacting. What would it be like to do that with Puck? She wondered. Embarrassing? Or just nice?

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Briar asked.

Morgan shook her head. "Not yet. But we'll tell you if we need anything."

"All righty." Granny said with a smile. "Now, who wants some breakfast?"

* * *

Two weeks later, it was time for Morgan and Mr. Seven's wedding.

Daphne was out of her mind with excitement, but Sabrina was wearing a lightweight dress that was easy to move in with all her weapons at the ready. They'd made no secret about their plans, and she was fully expecting a Hand attack.

The ceremony went smoothly, though, with no sign of anything untoward happening, and Mr. Seven and the new Mrs. Seven headed to their reception with lighter hearts than they'd expected to have.

In fact, Sabrina was just beginning to think that the Hand wasn't going to take the bait, and that she should loosen up and have some fun, maybe see if she could sneak a dance with Puck without raising any suspicions, when the telltale crack of the roof came.

"They're here." Sabrina whispered, looking up.

Puck grinned, swallowing a mouthful of cake. "Oh, good. I was getting bored."

Sabrina pulled out her sword and rolled her eyes. "You would feel like that."

The roof imploded, showering them all in who knows what, and the Scarlet Hand flowed in through the ceiling of the pavilion built for the wedding, bringing rain in with it.

"They couldn't use the door, now, could they?" Sabrina complained. "Now my dress is going to be ruined."

"Of course that's what you're worried about." Puck rolled his eyes, running forward to meet the Hand.

"Do you know how hard it is to get water stains out of satin?" Sabrina asked demanded, keeping pace with him.

"I didn't think you cared." Puck rolled his eyes.

Sabrina lashed out at a soggy card soldier, getting wet paper all over her sword and not doing much damage. "I own two dresses, Puck! I'd like to keep them nice!"

"Well, that's two more than I've got." Puck said, pulling a grenade out of his pocket.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, slicing at the wet card soldier again. Cutting them in half didn't kill them, but it did make it a lot harder for them to move. And apparently they got soggy in the rain.

She had only gotten halfway through the struggling card soldier- the eight of clubs- when Puck's latest unconventional grenade exploded and she had to move away to avoid coughing her lungs up because of the hideous smell. She didn't even want to think about what he'd put in there, and yet she found herself asking, "What did you _put_ in that?"

Puck grinned at her and said, "Let's just say that cats don't like enchiladas. Or- they like them, but their stomachs don't."

"Puck, that's disgusting!" Sabrina exclaimed, wrinkling her nose and shaking her sword to dislodge the card soldier, who was still attached to her sword. He seemed glad that he was being pulled away from the stench.

Once she'd gotten her sword free, she considered abandoning the soldier and finding something her sword would cut through, but she was reluctant to actually kill someone, and she'd always preferred fighting monsters and zombies and not-quite-human creatures to people who looked at her with their faces. She didn't want to watch them die.

So she went back to slicing at the soggy card soldier, hacking at him and feeling less effective than a pair of scissors on a cardboard box that had been sitting in the rain.

It took her another fifteen minutes to finish with the one soldier, and she shook off her sword, flinging a piece of wet cardboard into the face of the soldier, who was propping himself up with his arms and attempting to scoot out of the way of the feet of other fighters.

"Sorry." Sabrina said, not meaning it.

The card soldier cursed at her, trying to pull the cardboard off his face without falling flat on the ground.

Sabrina ignored him and unfurled her wings, flapping her way to the hole in the ceiling to get a better look at the battle.

It was going fairly well. Apparently, their preparation had paid off, because the Scarlet Hand was looking very overwhelmed, and most of the wedding party was still standing and fighting.

She was about to go rejoin the fray, having found where she'd be most useful, when the rain overhead abruptly ceased.

Sabrina looked up slowly, and her eyes bugged out when she saw the thing blocking the rain: a giant, leaning directly over the hole in the roof, looking down with a disgusting crooked-toothed grin.

The giant reached down towards her, and Sabrina dove sideways, screaming, "Giant! Everybody scram! _Giant_!"

She had to fly higher to avoid the giant, and as she did so, she stared, because not only was there a giant, there was also a giant beanstalk stretching up into the rain clouds overhead about twenty feet to her right, and beyond that was another beanstalk, and another, and another and more, giant twisted plants stretching up into the clouds as far as she could see, anchoring the cloud over Ferryport Landing in hundreds of places. And coming down from the clouds were giants, all at least twenty feet tall, some closer to thirty or even forty, stomping their way to the pavilion, wrecking everything in their paths.

"Oh no." Sabrina whispered, her hair blowing around her face as she stared at the destruction headed for the wedding.

The giant who was already there swiped at her again, and she dodged down through the roof and began shouting for everyone's attention, trying without too much success to warn them. Most people were too busy fighting to pay attention to one more scream, so she settled for grabbing Puck and dragging him away, high enough into the sky that they'd be safe from the giants, but low enough that they weren't in the clouds.

"What the-" Puck started, staring at the scene.

"Mirror must have gotten into the room with the beans!" Sabrina called over the storm, her hand still wrapped around Puck's arms.

Puck nodded, and, into Sabrina's ear, called, "It makes sense. He needed an advantage, and Oz's robots aren't waterproof. Besides, this is a surprise."

"Great." Sabrina snapped, dodging the same giant again and pulling Puck with her. "Now how do we stop them?"

"I want to know how he got them on his side." Puck said thoughtfully.

"Worry about it later!" Sabrina snapped. "How do I kill it without Excaibur?"

"Worry about _that_ later!" Puck yelled back, pulling her out of the way as the giant's arm swiped by again. "Worry about surviving!"

Sabrina dove out of the way, pulling Puck with her and saying, "We need to get the others out!"

"We can't!" Puck shouted, pointing. "There's too many of them! We should just run and hide 'til we can regroup!"

"Running and hiding is supposed to be _my_ forte!" Sabrina complained, but she let Puck pull her away, looking back worriedly at the pavilion where her family was still fighting. He was right. There was nothing they could do.

* * *

"Daphne, we have to get out!" Art shouted, yanking her back from the zombie she was fighting.

"Just let me-" Daphne sliced the zombie's head off and jumped back from the rolling lump of oozing wet flesh. "There. Finished. Where's Sabrina?"

"Gone already!" Art snapped. "Just like you should be! Come on before you get stomped!"

"But-" Daphne protested.

Art didn't wait for Daphne to finish her sentence, pulling her out of the way of a falling section of roof as another giant joined the large crowd already at the pavilion, and throwing her over his shoulder. He ignored her pounding on his back as he ran and shouted, "I am not letting you get killed, too!"

He dodged the giant's stamping feet with ease, Daphne supported on the muscular side of his uneven chest, both of them getting even more wet than they'd already been as they left the chaos of the battle scene, Art searching for a hiding place that would hold them both.

He finally stopped about a mile away from what was left of the wedding reception under a thickish copse of maple trees, which caused the rain to, instead of hitting them with a steady spray of droplets, plop down on their heads and shoulders in big unevenly spaced blobs of wet that rolled from one leaf to another before landing on them.

Daphne looked at Art's soaked head after he'd put her down, and she took pity on him as another raindrop felt on his head with an audible noise. "Here," she said, and concentrated on the trees around her.

It was easy to make them grow, in the rain and the summertime. They were already stretching their roots and their branches farther and farther up, so it was just a matter of convincing them to grow faster, and in a way that would shield the two people inside. She barely spent any energy as she talked- well, not really, because trees didn't speak the way animals and people did, but she communicated- with the trees.

When she was finished, their space had become an orb with a flattened bottom with only small gaps between the tree trunks, almost all of which were filled in with some very tall undergrowth. This thick spot, she'd made sure, spread out a good distance around them, making them almost impossible to find. She'd also strengthened everything she convinced to grow, but added elasticity, trying to make the plants into something that would survive a giant's crushing footsteps.

"Whoa." Art said, grinning at her. "Nice."

"I think we should be safe here." Daphne said, satisfied.

Art laughed. "Yeah, I'd say so! The only way we'd be safer is if we had one of your sister's barriers."

"_And_ all the bushes are berryliscious, so we won't starve!" Daphne said, allowing a note of pride into her voice.

"But you couldn't make it dry in here!" Art complained. "You're slipping, Daph."

Daphne pretended to get offended for a bit before sinking down onto the wet but nicely thickened moss carpeting their campsite and putting her hands under her head. "You know what?" She said, "I don't care how wet it is, or how cold. I'm tired enough that I could sleep on a rock in the middle of the sea, like they did in 'The Seven Swans'."

Art laughed, but Daphne was already sound asleep, filthy wet clothes and all. He smiled a little, sadly, and took off his own sopping suit coat and laid it over her, before going to the other side of their enclosure to get a bit of sleep for himself.

* * *

Sabrina and Puck were about ten miles away from the wedding pavilion in the opposite direction, making their own camp near where the barrier hit the ground, which they'd figured would be harder for the giants to get to because it was lower. Just in case, though, Sabrina had put up a barrier that was impervious to anything but air, which was about fifteen feet in diameter.

Puck was trying to start a fire with some very wet logs he'd gathered before the barrier was put up, while Sabrina wrung out her soaked satin dress, standing there shivering in her stockings and camisole. At least she'd worn sensible shoes.

"Of course it had to be raining when they attacked." She muttered.

"Well, yeah." Puck said, downing another soda. "The cloud kind of comes with the giants."

Sabrina gave him a blank stare, squeezing her dress harder.

"The beans are like connectors. The giants don't exactly live in our world, they live in this place that's separate, kind of like Neverland and Wonderland, and the way through is the beanstalks." Puck explained. "But the cloud thing they live on is stuck here now, until all the beanstalks are gone. I don't know if they're raining 'cause all the giants are stomping around or 'cause they're angry or they haven't been here in so long, or just 'cause the weathermen said it was going to be nice today, but I betcha we won't see the sun until every last one of those bean plants gets chopped down."

Sabrina made a face and groaned. "I'll never be dry again."

Puck grinned at her and said, "Well, you don't have to put the dress on 'til it's dry. I don't mind. In fact, if you want to take your other clothes off, too..." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Sabrina blushed darker than she ever had before and pulled her dress back on faster than you could say 'inappropriate'. Puck shrugged and went back to his steaming logs, belching again. This time there was a thin trail of smoke, but still no fire.

Sabrina sat down with a moan as her stomach grumbled. It was going to be a long night.


	114. Scattered

**AN~ Because I took so long last time, another chapter somewhat early. Don't know if you'll get your Friday chapter this week, I'm presently traveling to Georgia, where I will stay until next Monday or so.**

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**The Winner of Last QotD: Can I give a winner for that? It's like 'you pointed out the worst things in my story! Have a prize!' But yes, PenguinLoverGurl and PsychoBrunette told me what they want fixed, and they make good points. I shall endeavor to fix them. Whatcha want, chicas?  
**

New QotD: Because I didn't give you your whole week and I genuinely want to know: What's wrong with this story? How can I improve? What do you want? But for those of you who already told me: Which is your favorite book? Why?

**.**

_**PuckabrinaFOREVER: **_**I'm glad you like it so much! Thanks for the review! About Art: Remember that we haven't had his side of the story yet.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl:_ Glad you're happy. :) Sorry it took longer than usual. QotD: 1) Well, I guess I describe stuff I care about... (that is something I'm trying to work on, descriptions. A while ago, the story had almost NONE). 2) This chapter actually had an extra two hundred words. My average is 3,000 words of chapter and however much author's note there is because that's about how much I can write in a week, but I can try to up it a bit for you. 3) But... I can't! It's come too far! There's no way I can skew it to wrap around with what MB wrote! Though if you give me some parts that you think would fit that you like from the book, I'll try to work them in.  
**

* * *

"Mom, we're going out." Henry told Relda, shouldering his sword. "Can you stay here and watch Basil?"

Granny, Henry, Basil, Briar, and Goldilocks had all made it to the Grimm's house safely, along with Papa Bear. The others were still unaccounted for, and nobody had contacted them through the swords. Maybe they were afraid there wouldn't be an answer.

Relda sighed but nodded. She'd made it clear the previous night that she didn't think fighting the giants was a good idea, but Henry had insisted.

"Thanks." Henry said, heading out.

Once the front door had slammed behind him, Granny turned to Basil and said, "Well, I don't think we're just going to sit around here all day, do you?"

Basil laughed and clapped his hands, running over to her. "We go too?" He asked.

Relda smiled. "We're not going with your daddy, but I'm going to take you someplace exciting."

Basil squealed excitedly, clapping his hands again. "Where?"

"We're going to go see the queen of the giants." Granny said.

It wasn't that simple, of course. She had to know how the rest of her family was doing first, so she contacted them through the swords, and found out that Sabrina and Puck were safely together, Daphne was with Art, Bella was with Wendell and several other teenagers who were hiding out inside the basement of what had once been the bank, and Veronica, Jake, Red, and Charming were inside the Chicken House.

"We're safe, Relda." Veronica assured her. "We're running around in the house trying to find any other survivors. Snow was out here, too, but she left to cut down some beanstalks, keep any more giants from coming in."

"I hope she leaves a few up." Granny said worriedly. "We can't have all the giants stuck here, and no matter what my thickheaded son thinks, there's no way we can kill two hundred giants."

"More, now." Veronica said gloomily. "They just keep coming. But she doesn't want to cut them all down, she just figures that if there are less, we can guard them, keep any more giants from coming down."

Relda nodded. "But meanwhile, the Scarlet Hand will just keep planting more."

"At least the robots are out of the question until the Giants are gone." Veronica said.

Granny nodded decisively. "Something must be done."

"You have a plan?" Veronica asked.

Relda nodded.

Veronica grinned. "Good. We need something to keep Henry from getting himself stepped on."

Relda smiled back. "If this goes right, my plan will keep that man as safe as can be."

Veronica laughed. "That's not saying much, when we're talking about my husband."

* * *

Relda knew they had to actually climb at least part of the beanstalk, otherwise she would only find herself in a very wet fog, instead of the realm of the giants. But she was a little old for that, anymore, and Basil too young, so she had the carpet take them up to almost where the cloud started, and then, the carpet firmly under her feet, she directed Basil to stand, and they grabbed the beanstalk hand over hand as they rose the last bit, through the cloud and to the sunshine on the other side.

The carpet took them to the biggest giant castle of them all as soon as Relda told it 'Giant queen', and once they'd arrived, passing all sorts of things that Basil was fascinated by but Relda ignored, brought them to a stop ten feet from the face of the giant who was guarding the entrance.

"I'd like to request an audience with the queen." Relda half-shouted at the giant. "It's urgent."

The giant glared at her and said, "She's busy."

"Can you at least take a message?" She asked. "Tell her Relda Grimm wants to know why our arrangement has been broken."

The giant glared at her for a long while before seeming to decide she wasn't going anywhere, and that he might as well do what she wanted. He stalked off into the castle, leaving Relda and Basil outside.

"Where he goin', Granny?" Basil asked, standing on the carpet.

"To tell the queen we're here." Granny said, pulling Basil down. "And don't stand on the carpet unless I tell you to, _liebling_, you might fall off."

"I'd lan' onna cloud, Granny! Clouds is soff!" Basil pointed out.

"Yes, but you're so small I'd lose you!" Granny laughed. "And what if you got stepped on? I'd lose my only grandson, and that would be very sad."

"Oh-kay, Granny." Basil relented. "I stay put."

Relda smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good boy," she said.

The giant came back, and his steps were louder than before, a sure sign he was angry. Relda could almost see the castle shaking, even though it was built for creatures as large as he was. He stopped back at his post and said, his voice lower than before, angry, "The queen has agreed to an audience with you."

Relda smiled at him and said, "Thank you. Don't leave your post, now, I know the way."

As they headed off, Basil asked, "We really goin'a see a _queen_, Granny?"

Relda nodded. "We're off to the queen of the giants. And she had better have an explanation."

* * *

Daphne woke up very early the next morning, shivering. She wasn't used to sleeping alone, and it was cold. She sat up and saw, across the clearing, Art, shivering himself, so she scooted over to him and lay back down, snuggling into him.

When she woke again, it was to Art's strangled 'Guh!' as he pushed her away.

"Don't you like hugging me?" She asked, hurt, rubbing her eyes to remove the bleariness.

"Of course I do." Art said, looking guiltily down at her. He didn't stop pushing her back, though. "It's just... I... I can't, Daphne."

"How come?" Daphne asked. Then her eyes lit up in understanding. "Is it 'cause it's just the two of us? And you're afraid of us being inappropriate?" She grinned slyly. "If you are, you don't have to worry. I'm way too young for that stuff. It's kind of gross." She frowned. "Unless it's other people. Then it's adorable. Like Puck and Sabrina, though it'd be cuter if they were together."

"Not... exactly." Art said. "It's something else."

"What is it?" Daphne asked.

"It's..." Art hesitated for a long time before bursting out with, "Sabrina. She and I got in an argument, and she thinks I should stay away from you. And I don't want to make your sister mad."

Daphne made a face. "Sabrina's stupid. I can make my own friends. And I don't care. She'll get over it. I still like you."

"Would you still say that if you knew?" Art muttered, quietly enough that Daphne almost didn't hear.

* * *

Sabrina woke up the next morning and immediately sat up and got her sword out. She had to make sure everyone else was all right. Now.

She ignored Puck's arms, which were wrapped around her, and into the gem on her sword, said, "Bella."

Bella's face appeared in the gem a little while later, bleary eyed and blinking a lot. "It's too early for whatever it is, Sabrina." She muttered.

"Too early to make sure you're not dead?" Sabrina asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah, hey." Bella said. "Glad you're alive too. But it's like, six!"

"Sorry." Sabrina shrugged. "I woke up and I was too worried to do anything else. How did you get out yesterday?"

"A bunch of us ran to the basement of the bank." Bella said. "The heavy-duty vault's down here; it's like a bomb shelter! What about you?"

"Puck and I got out as soon as the giants showed up." Sabrina said. "We're on the eastern edge of the barrier by ourselves. I'm keeping us safe, but there isn't any food."

"Poor baby." Bella teased. "We have some potato chips and stuff. There's an abandoned convenience store two buildings down, and Jonas ran in there to get some stuff."

"Who all is with you?" Sabrina asked, crossing her fingers. _Please Daphne, please Daphne, please Daphne_.

"Wendell, Jonas, Annie, Eve, Peter, Tiger Lily, and Renee."

"Nobody... nobody else?" Sabrina asked quietly.

Bella shook her head. "I don't know where your family is. Sorry, Sabrina."

"It's OK." Sabrina tried to smile. "I'm sure they're safe. Somewhere."

"Yeah." Bella said. "You gonna go try for them?"

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded. "Bye."

"Bye." Bella said. "Good luck."

Sabrina cut off the connection, took a deep breath to steady herself, and said, "Daf- Red." She couldn't do it. Not yet.

Red appeared in the jewel and smiled at Sabrina. "Hey. I'm glad you're okay."

"You too." Sabrina smiled, recognizing the Chicken House in the background. "How's everything over there?"

"I'm here with Daddy Jake and your mom, and Snow and Charming." Red said, understanding immediately what Sabrina meant. "And we're good. Safe. Hiding in the woods, but the grown ups are planning something right now, so I don't think we'll be hiding long."

"Mom's there?" Sabrina asked, relieved. That was one less person she had to worry was squashed.

Red nodded. "She's kind of banged up, 'cause she kept going back for other people 'til Snow made her stop, but she'll be okay."

"Great." Sabrina said, heaving a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Red."

Red smiled. "Do you want to talk to her?"

Sabrina shook her head. "She's probably in the middle of something. She'll probably call when she has some time."

Red nodded. "Probably. Is it just you, there?"

"Nope." Sabrina said. "Me and Puck, unfortunately. Tell Mom we're safe, and that if she has more important stuff to worry about, we can wait?"

Red nodded. "Of course. Bye."

"Bye." Sabrina said, but Red had already disappeared from her gem.

She sat there for several minutes, trying to get up the courage to call for Daphne, breathing heavily, but before she could, Granny's face appeared in her gemstone.

"Granny!" Sabrina exclaimed.

"Oh, _liebling_, thank goodness you're all right!" Granny said, smiling._  
_

"You, too!" Sabrina grinned. "I'm on the east edge of town with Puck. We're safe, I put up a barrier. It's just cold. And wet. And I'm hungry. But we're not hurt or anything."

Granny laughed. "I'm so relieved."

"You're at home?" Sabrina asked. Of course she was. They'd had the car.

Granny nodded. "With your father, your brother, Briar, and a few others."

"No... no Daphne?" Sabrina asked. Daphne was nowhere. What if she was... Sabrina didn't know what she'd do if she lost Daphne. It might possibly be the worst thing to happen to her, ever.

Granny shook her head. "I was going to call her right after you."

"Oh." Sabrina said softly.

"I'm sorry, _liebling_." Granny said.

Sabrina shrugged. "It's fine."

"Would you like me to let you go, so you can see?" Granny suggested.

Sabrina shook her head. "You call," she said. "I have to see if I can find some breakfast, anyway." _Just when I was starting to get dry_...

"All right..." Granny said doubtfully. "Goodbye, _liebling_. I love you."

"Love you, too." Sabrina tried to smile at Granny, then ran her thumb over the sapphire, cutting off the connection.

She sat back with a sigh. Where was Daphne? Why wasn't she with the rest of the family? Why hadn't Sabrina gone back for her? She could be... Sabrina bit back a hiccuppy sob. Daphne was probably fine. And she'd been serious about needing breakfast, but she really didn't want to go out in the rain to get it.

Puck's arms suddenly squeezed tighter around Sabrina's middle, and she had a brilliant idea. Turning, she said, "Send your pixies to get us food. I'll let them in the barrier when they get here."

"Good morning to you, too." Puck muttered, letting go of her quickly.

Sabrina felt a little let down. She hadn't wanted to make him let go of her. "Morning." She amended. "Sorry."

"That's better." Puck grinned, scooting around so that he was facing her. "Now I'll get the Pixies."

Sabrina gaped at him. "You were playing me!" She accused.

Puck's grin slipped a little and sheepishly he said, "I just wanted to see if it would work."

"You're a jerk." Sabrina huffed.

Puck wrapped his arms around her again, squeezing. "Does that make it better?"

Sabrina very much wanted to stay just like that for a long time, but she didn't want to let Puck see how much pull he had over her, so she pushed him off and said, "No. Now go get us some breakfast."

Puck shrugged and got out his pipes, calling his pixies out from wherever they went when he didn't need them, and ordered them to find him food- and plenty of it. And maybe some more firewood and something to keep the heat in, like a blanket.

"And some sticks." Sabrina said. "Long ones, but skinny. Kind of straightish."

Puck gave her a confused look, but added that to the list, and sent the pixies off.

"I want to make a rack." Sabrina explained. "To dry things on."

Puck, whose clothes were still very damp, nodded. "Makes sense."

"I wish there was a way I could get the water out of the ground." Sabrina complained. "I could have, last year. I'd have had us dry as a rock in outer space in no time! But now we're stuck here sitting on wet grass and wet dirt in wet clothes with a pile of wet firewood."

"Yeah, well, you can't, now." Puck shrugged. "And the only way you'll be dry is if you take off your wet clothes, and you already shot that idea down."

Sabrina's face flushed crimson again, and she said hotly, "We _can't_."

"Why not?" Puck asked. "We're alone. Probably will be for a long time. We're safe. Why shouldn't we have some fun?"

"Because we're _fourteen_." Sabrina stressed. "And we've been dating for two weeks. This is a really bad time for us to be alone."

"I don't see the problem." Puck shrugged.

"Puck, the odds of us getting carried away out here and doing something neither of us is ready for are huge. And if we _do_ do... that... what might the consequences be? I don't want that. And without somebody here to keep us from going too far... We have to set boundaries. Which means all our clothes stay on and your hands stay where they're supposed to be, and we don't kiss any more than we have been up 'til now."

"Fine." Puck shrugged. "I guess I'm not really ready for anything like that, either. I mean, what do you _do_?"

Sabrina, whose blush had finally been fading, turned bright pink again. "I don't know!" She snapped. "I've never done it!"

There was a tapping noise, and they both turned. The pixies were outside, looking thoroughly soaked. Sabrina got the feeling they'd been standing there for a while, so she let them in quickly with a guilty look on her face.

Puck took the food and the firewood, and began trying to build up the fire again, because it had dwindled down to coals the previous night Sabrina took the soaked blanket, the two sticks, and a bit of food for herself- a sealed bag or pretzels- then watched as the pixies left the barrier and disappeared.

"Where do they go, I wonder?" She asked. "The pixies?"

"When I don't need them?" Puck asked, shrugging. "I dunno. Never asked. But they're always there when I want them."

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I'd have asked them."

"What, you want me to call them up out of the blue sometime to ask them where they are when I'm not with them?" Puck asked. "Most of the time I call them, I need something more than satisfied curiosity."

"No, I just..." Sabrina sighed. "Never mind."

Puck didn't answer, and Sabrina left him to his fire-building, turning to her sword. It was time to stop being a coward and find out what was going on with her sister.

"Daphne." She whispered into the blue stone, then bit her lip and waited.

Daphne appeared in the facets of the jewel, and when she saw Sabrina, her open expression turned into a glare. Sabrina's relief made her almost not care what she'd done now to get Daphne so upset.

"I can't believe you!" Daphne shouted.

"Why?" Sabrina asked, still smiling. Daphne was alive! Alive, and well enough to be angry with her!

"You told Art to stay away from me!" Daphne accused.

So she was with Art, then. "I didn't, actually." Sabrina said. "We got in an argument a while ago because of something he did, but if he's staying away from you, that's all his doing."

"Then why'd he tell me you said to stay away from him?" Daphne accused. "And what did he do?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't know, and that's for him to tell you. But I will say that whatever guilt he's feeling, he deserves. And he doesn't deserve you at all. Even when you're in a mood like this."

"What makes you so sure you can judge him?" Daphne hissed. "I don't think you deserve me, sometimes."

Ouch. That one hurt. But Sabrina just shrugged and said, "When he tells you, maybe you'll understand."

"I don't think I have anything else to say to you." Daphne told Sabrina hotly. "Not when you judge my friends."

"All right." Sabrina said softly. But before her sister could cut off the connection, she added, "I'm glad you're safe, Daphne. I was worried about you."

Daphne's expression softened for half a second, and she said, "Yeah, me too. But I'm still mad."

And then she was gone. Sabrina sighed, opening her bag of pretzels. She hadn't even done anything, and Daphne was still mad at her. How fair was that? If she'd told Daphne, she'd have called her a liar, and not telling made her angry. She sighed again, more quietlly. Little sisters. Who could understand them?


	115. Piecemeal

**AN~ Well, I didn't get everything I wanted to in this chapter. But I got most of it. Tomorrow maybe this plot will wrap up.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Epiphany on Toast for the repeat of the last one, and nobody for the second, because all I got was 'how can I choose?'  
**

New QotD: If you had to choose ONE Everafter to meet, who would it be, and what would you do together? Points for originality of Everafter AND activities, because I don't want to read fifteen 'I'd meet Puck and we'd prank people all day!' entries.

**.**

_**Rosiebud:**_**So... don't send you PMs. Sah-weet! Thanks! And I know, it's a difficult question.**

_**Agd:**_**But... why? I'll miss you! I know you won't be reading this, but still. Bye. I hope you know that I feel betrayed that you would leave the SG fandom for Potter.**

* * *

Relda and Basil floated through the enormous halls rather like a large insect might, though they had more purpose to their flight. They reached the door to the queen's audience chamber, which was solid silver (the giants' favored metal) and two stories tall in this world, putting it at about seven human stories high.

The doors stood open, and Relda and Basil slipped through silently, Basil gaping, Relda staring straight forward. She'd been here before. And even if she hadn't, she would not show awe. It was just one more sign of weakness, and the culture of the giants was not one that allowed for weakness.

"Relda." the queen of the giants said, nodding to her. A great sign of respect, from someone this great. "I was wondering when you would be here."

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, your majesty." Relda said, bowing as low as she could while sitting on a carpet.

"Shall we cease with the formalities?" The queen suggested. "We can move to my private chamber."

Relda nodded, looking slantwise at the guards along the walls. There were more than she remembered. But none of them followed as they moved behind the throne and through another door.

This room was smaller, comparatively, but still enormous. The queen sat down on a small chair with a sigh, an Relda directed the carpet to land on a nearby desk.

"Izzata queen, Granny?" Basil whispered.

Relda nodded, surprised he hadn't known; the woman had been sitting on a throne. She examined the queen more closely. The giantess wore no crown, and her clothes were made of the same rough material most giants wore, though hers were brighter colors than usual. But her face still bore the signs of power, there was a tilt to her head that said she was in charge and she knew it. Relda supposed a three-year-old wouldn't be expected to know that. The queen looked tired, though, and worried. From Relda's size and angle, the purple-gray circles under her eyes were startlingly prominent, especially on such a ruddy face.

"Who is this?" The queen asked, peering at Basil through a pair of lenses designed for encounters with humans, glasses that were around a gold chain on the queen's neck, mostly for show. Humans rarely came to visit.

"This is my grandson, Basil." Relda said. "Basil, bow to the queen of the sky."

Basil started to lean over, but the queen stopped him, shaking her head. "No formalities."

"All right then." Relda said, nodding. "Cutting to the chase: your subjects are presently destroying my town, and almost killed several of my family members. They may have killed any number of my friends. What happened to our agreement?"

"I have no control over them." The queen said, her mouth tightening. "When the beans drew us here, I gave strict orders not to move, but they ignored me. The pull of the earth and freedom was too strong, now that there is no giant killer to be afraid of."

Relda sighed. "My sons have Excalibur and the Vorpal blade, and will stop at nothing to keep their families safe. They don't have the Giant's Blade, but there will be two Giant Killers again soon, in everything but name, if your subjects don't return."

The queen drew a breath, blowing Relda's hat almost off her head.

"I'm sorry," Relda said, "but that's the way it is. And there's nothing I can do about it. My sons are grown men, ones who are completely within their rights to protect their home. It follows the agreement."

"Yes, I know." The queen nodded, defeated. "There is nothing I can do. No way I can save my people. And can you blame them? Most of them remember a time when we had the run of the earth, when we ruled it. And now we're trapped here in the sky by insects. If the opportunity comes, of course they'll leave."

Relda nodded. "I understand. But our agreement was that any giant who set foot on the ground without proper permission was within our bounds, and if he proved dangerous, he was allowed to be removed. Forcibly, if necessary. And every giant down there is proving dangerous."

"The agreement is understood." The queen said stiffly. "I will alert my remaining subjects. Anyone who attempts to leave will be detained in any way necessary."

Relda twitched her lips. "Very well. If a special force were to be sent out from your end in an attempt to remove those below without casualties, it would be permitted without breaching the agreement."

The queen nodded. "I will arrange that."

"Have we reached an understanding, then?" Relda asked.

"We have." The queen said. "I appreciate you coming to discuss this with me."

Relda nodded. "Of course. It's only common courtesy among protectresses."

The queen nodded, too. "Will you see yourself out?"

"Yes, thank you." Relda said. "It has been... nice to see you again. I wish it were on more pleasant terms."

"Yes, well." The giant queen shrugged. "Friendship between our species is close to impossible, presently. We're simply too large to live in your world. I wish my other subjects understood. Goodbye, Relda."

"Goodbye." Relda said, then, "Carpet, up!" It rose, and she said, "Take us home."

* * *

Daphne looked up from her sword, running her thumb over the jewel on the hilt and told Art, "It looks like we're stuck here for the next couple days. Mom and a few people are going around trying to rescue people, but since we're safe, we're low on the list, and they couldn't get close enough to get us out without putting us in danger. I had to make a really long confusing path to get out, just in case someone wanted to get in."

"All right." Art sighed, biting his lip.

"What?" Daphne asked, half teasing, half hurt, "Anyone would think you didn't want to spend all this time with me!"

"It's not that, Daphne." Art said, sighing again.

"Then what is it?" Daphne asked.

"I'm sick of berries." Art said. "Also I smell and my clothes are still wet and filthy and itchy, and I'm cold."

"I didn't think fairies got cold." Daphne said, confused. Sure, all those things were wrong for her, too, but she wasn't being all... reclusive.

"I didn't, either." Art made a face.

"I'm sorry." Daphne said.

"For what?" Art asked.

"Well, we don't really have any firewood 'cause I kind of made everything around here alive." Daphne said. "I'm sorry. And I can't really give us anything other than berries, unless there's an apple tree nearby or something. Do you want me to try?"

Art shook his head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for, Daphne. You've been amazing. It's all me. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"I get it." Daphne shrugged. "It's hard, being cooped up in here for so long."

Art nodded tightly, turning away. He said nothing more for a long while.

* * *

Veronica tapped her fingers impatiently. "Really, Billy?" She snapped. "I want to go get my girls!"

Charming, who had been taking them through the town (which he knew most of the secret spaces of by heart) all day, shook his head. "We have a responsibility, Veronica. Both your daughters are in a known location and safe. I have hundreds of other Everafters to locate, ones nobody has heard from. Priorities, woman!"

"But Sabrina could be useful!" Veronica protested. "I know Relda's house and the Golden Egg have protections, but you have nothing that will stand against giants at your fort! Sabrina could fix that!"

"Veronica, there is a perfectly good reason I haven't had Sabrina protect the fort, which you'd know if you were thinking straight!" Charming snapped. "There are plenty of Everafters at the fort with special skills who are now prepared and can protect the fort. Arthur has the Giant Killer's sword. Any giant who goes near the fort will be disposed of in short order."

They'd picked Arthur up earlier that day, as well as Mr. Clay, Jane and Tiger Lily, Robin Hood (who had come under much duress) and most of his Merry Men, several princesses, and a handful of fairies. The Sevens were still missing, and though they'd found Mordred, he had decided to search for his mother instead of returning to safety. Nobody had argued, Mordred could take care of himself. It was almost nightfall, and Veronica wanted to go get her children. Charming was adamant that they were going to go through the town in a pattern, and until they reached the girls' section of the pattern, they were going to search out and rescue other people.

"He has a point, Veronica." Briar pointed out.

"Oh, sure, you say that!" Veronica snapped. "Your daughter's right there!"

She pointed at Red, who cowered, half hiding behind the door to Briar's bedroom.

Briar glared at Veronica, throwing her hands into the air. "Fine!" She snapped. "Be unreasonable! But Sabrina and Daphne are fine, and we can't get to them right now anyway, even if Billy wanted to!"

Veronica gaped at Briar, her mouth working while she glared, lost for words.

Charming blinked. "Well." He said. "It looks like it's not just Henry the girl gets her temper from."

Red stepped forward tentatively and wrapped her arms around Veronica. After a few seconds, the woman relented and returned the hug.

"I'm sorry." She told Briar. "I'm just worried, that's all. And tired."

"I know," Briar said, "but that's no reason to snap at us."

"We're all tired and worried." Charming pointed out.

"Snow's fine." Veronica said, waving his concern away.

"And how do you know that?" Charming asked, bristling.

"Because she's right there." Red answered for her, pointing out the window.

Snow, wet hair plastered to her forehead, was hurrying through the sloppy mud of the abandoned quarry the Chicken House was positioned in, not running because that was just stupid, her saw and axe slung in an 'x' across her back, her grin visible even from the house, which was still standing, just in case. Or maybe because it didn't like mud.

"Snow!" Charming cried, relief evident in his voice.

The house crouched down, still a few inches off the mud, and Snow clambered into the house, collapsing on one of the kitchen chairs, her face red, still smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good day." Veronica muttered.

"Ignore her." Briar advised, handing Snow a plate she'd saved her from dinner. "She's just grumpy. How did it go, Snow?"

"I cut down forty-two of the things!" Snow proclaimed. "Thanks." She added, as Red slipped her a glass of water.

As Snow gulped down the contents of her glass, Veronica muttered, "Well, that's wonderful. We're down forty-two out of three hundred, with more every day."

"Veronica." Briar said warningly.

"Sorry." Veronica said, genuinely. "I just... Well, if we can't go get my kids, can I at least _do something_ tomorrow? I'm going to go insane if I have to stay up here. Probably take you guys with me."

"I don't doubt it." Briar muttered. Louder, she said, "Fine with me. Maybe with more people you can make more headway."

"Might need it." Snow added. "There aren't any really close to here."

"Maybe I should go, too." Charming suggested. "If you need more help."

Briar shook her head and said, "No. We need you here because you're the only one who understands your 'pattern', and I don't want to miss anywhere. I'd go, but we also need someone here that can talk to people."

Veronica laughed, the first time that day. "Yeah, you're the only one today who's really been good for that."

"Maybe..." Red suggested, then paused. "Maybe if you talked to Sabrina and Daphne you'd feel better."

Veronica nodded. "I'll go do that." She said, heading out.

As she left, she distinctly heard Briar mutter, "Thank goodness."

* * *

"What was that about?" Puck asked Sabrina, finishing his breakfast. "I heard Daphne shouting at you."

Sabrina sighed again and shook her head, dropping her sword on the ground and wishing Daphne hadn't cut out on her seconds ago. "Art... Did something, a while ago, and it was... bad. Really bad. And he knows it, and he's acting awkward around Daphne 'cause of it. And she knew something was up, and he lied and told her I didn't want him to talk to her, so she got mad at me when I wouldn't tell her."

"What did he do?" Puck asked, bewildered. Sabrina understood. Art was the last person anyone would expect to do something like that.

Sabrina shook her head. "I can't tell you." She said.

"Why not?" Puck complained.

"It's not my business." Sabrina said. "And it's not yours."

"What do you mean it's not our business?" Puck demanded. "He's one of my best friends, and you were there!"

Sabrina shook her head again, adamant. "If he wanted you to know, he'd tell you. I mean, the fact that he's not telling Daphne is heinous, but there's really nothing I can do about it." She paused, figuring Puck deserved the whole truth, and said, "Besides, if I told anyone, it would get out, and Daphne would hear about it, and she'd assume I was just being a jerk. And then she'd be mad at me for what he did."

Puck grinned. "I knew you couldn't be keeping it a secret just because of privacy!"

Sabrina sighed. "Your faith in me is astounding."

Puck leaned in to her a bit and said, "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I just mean that... well, you're always in everybody's business! Why should this be any different?"

"Thanks, Puck." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying-" Puck stopped. "I think I'm going to be quiet now." He said.

"Smartest thing you've done all morning." Sabrina quipped.

"You love me and my stupidity." Puck grinned, lying back on the ground, his arms above his head.

"Well, when you're stupid, it makes me look better." Sabrina agreed.

"Hey!" Puck complained, sitting up, offended.

Sabrina grinned at him to show she was mostly kidding, enjoying just being there with him. She laid down next to him, her damp dress smelly around her, deciding that she wasn't going to worry about anything until they got to go home. Her family was safe, she was stuck here with Puck, their boundaries were set up, and she could just be with him, with no secrets and no hiding. If she could have taken a shower and changed, she'd be totally enjoying herself.

Puck laid back down, too, a goofy smile on his face, and slipped his hand in hers, which she'd left sticking out a bit in case he wanted to do just that.

Sabrina suddenly wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how important he was, how amazing, but she was afraid of giving him a bigger head, or saying the wrong thing, or just sounding stupid (besides, since when did they compliment each other?), so she settled for scooting closer and leaning against him.

Puck pulled her even closer with his far arm, wrapping it around her and leaving it there. Her head was resting on his shoulder, she was lying practically on her side, their clasped hands between them, and she slipped her arm around him, too, and they just laid there for a while, ignoring the sticks that were supposed to be set up to help them dry their clothes, and their food, and the world, just being with each other.

* * *

Four days of cold wet trouble had passed, and Daphne was getting stir-crazy. She'd refused to talk to Sabrina, even though her sister kept trying, but she'd spoken with Granny and her mom a lot, and found out that Relda had talked to the queen of the Giants (Daphne was so very jealous of Basil right then), and the giants were doing a pretty good job of not rounding themselves up, even though they were trying. Most of what they were doing was making more of a mess. Every now and again another giant would agree to go back up, but not very often, and the giants who wanted to go back up had branded themselves with bright blue shoes, so that the little people didn't kill them when they tried to convince others to follow them.

Veronica and Snow had cut down about three hundred beanstalks all together, but more just kept coming. The town had been about halfway emptied of refugees (the half she wasn't in, unfortunately), and most of her friends had been accounted for. Bella had told her that Peter had run off in search of Wendy, who was still missing, along with Mustardseed, Renee, Peaseblossom, and Will's family. Will had been found, but he'd run off to find his father and sister.

And there was _nothing_ for her to do.

Art had gone for a walk on the winding path through the trees, maybe because he'd gotten sick of the awkward silence between them. Daphne wondered if it was something she'd done, making him act like this. He said it wasn't, but still. She decided she'd make it up to him, when he got back. Show him how much she appreciated him. After all, she didn't have that many opportunities to make new friends. She had to take good care of the ones she had.

Making it up to him included not tracking him through the woods as he hiked, so he surprised her when he came back, and she jumped a bit before she turned and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly, her face pressed against the weak side of his chest.

"What was that for?" Art asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Daphne shrugged, not letting go of him. "I just... I'm glad you're here. And all right. I don't think I could stand it, if I lost anyone else. Not after Tim..." She sniffed.

Art pushed her away, suddenly, snapping, "I can't stand it!"

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked, bewildered, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"I've been trying to- but it's just so hard, and being with you all the time- I just can't stand it anymore!"

Daphne whimpered. What had she done?

Art took a deep breath, then exploded with, "I killed Tim, okay, Daphne? It's my fault he's dead."


	116. Unforgiveable Sins

**AN~ This chapter is unfairly short, and I apologize to you all. But I had no idea where to go from here. We're getting close to the end, now. **

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: my-dear-fangirl and her POWER OF LOVE adventures with Gerda and Kai.  
**

New QotD: What should I do next? Give me minor plot bunnies. Just small ones, in character and plausible things to happen in this story. Otherwise it'll be maybe ten more chapters and then done.

**.**

_**nightmare of chapter 2:**_**I'm sorry you feel that way. I admit that the beginning is bad, but I'd like to think that I've improved a lot, which, if you make it that far, I hope you'll agree. By the way, coming out with 'I hate you' then saying 'I'm sorry if that's mean' is kind of... Yeah. OF COURSE it seems mean. And if you automatically hate someone because they're bad authors, then you're going to hate a lot of people. Just sayin'.**

_**Lee Jordan: **_**I continued. Fast enough?**

_**PenguinLoverGurl:**_** My mom read that. Never told me what my love language is, though I'm guessing it's the words one. Most things with me are words. Little sisters are hard.**

_**lovespuck:**_**Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it. QotD: He's not exactly an Everafter. He's Disney's interpretation of a character, not MB's.****  
**

* * *

"You- you what?" Daphne asked, not bothering to hold back the tears. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Art shook his head and said, not looking in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Daphne, it's not."

Daphne stared at him, aghast, for several seconds, before running off into the woods, which separated for her willingly, snapping shut on Art, who called, "Daphne!' She ignored him, still running, until she reached the base of a particularly thick tree, and collapsed, sobbing.

She fumbled for her sword, and ran her thumb over the base of it, whispering, "Sabrina?"

Sabrina's face was immediately in Daphne's gem, and when she saw her sister, her brows drew together worriedly. "What's wrong, Daphne?"

"You were right." Daphne told Sabrina through her tears. "Art- it's awful, Sabrina!"

"Oh, Daphne." Sabrina whispered.

Daphne sobbed for a long time more, and Sabrina didn't leave. Finally, once she'd calmed down, Daphne asked, "What do I do, Sabrina? I have to go back there!"

Sabrina shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been able to do it. I guess... I mean, I could come get you. If you need me. Or we could call mom..."

Daphne shook her head. "I have to do this." She said, sounding braver than she felt.

"All right, if you're sure..." Sabrina trailed off doubtfully.

"I am." Daphne said. She wasn't. She paused and said, "Listen, Sabrina. I owe you an apology. You were right. And I was mad at you for no reason."

Sabrina shrugged. "I don't really blame you, I guess. I figured you'd react like that, as soon as you said Art pinned it on me."

"Still." Daphne shrugged. "I should have listened. I mean, you were right." She paused. "I wish you'd told me, though."

"Would you have believed me?" Sabrina asked softly.

"I guess not." Daphne whispered.

"Yeah." Sabrina said. "Bye, Daphne."

"Bye." Daphne whispered, feeling guilty. She'd hurt her sister. Sabrina, who was only trying to help, who knew Daphne... who knew that Daphne would choose her friend over the girl who had protected her for two years, and still wanted to protect her, her closest family member, one of the most important people in her life. And she'd chosen Art over Sabrina, and look where that had gotten her! She'd need to work on that. Sabrina deserved better. Even if she was a jerk sometimes. Or most of the time.

Taking a deep breath, Daphne steeled herself to return to the clearing and Art. She moved much slower this time, half because it was dark now and half because she really didn't want to go. How could she look at him, knowing what he'd done? How had Sabrina been able to stand it? How could he live with himself? How could she spend time in the same place as he was?

When she reached the clearing, Art stood up and said, "Daphne!"

"I don't want to talk to you right now." Daphne said, walking over to the far side of the clearing. "I don't even want to look at you."

"All right." Art said glumly.

For a while after this, the two sat in silence, Daphne staring out into the woods and Art doing who-knows-what. A pile of berries (Daphne's favorite of the ones growing in the clearing) appeared next to her with no notice, but Daphne ignored them. If he thought food would make up for what he'd done, he was sorely mistaken. It might be the way to her heart, but she wasn't seven anymore! You couldn't win back her love by feeding her. Especially if it was just berries.

Still, she did have to eat...

She relented, popping the berries into her mouth one by one. This did _not_ mean he was forgiven, though, and she glared at him to make sure he knew it. Even if the berries were tasty, and it was nice to have a pile to eat instead of going after the bushes in search of enough to fill her up.

She tried to fall asleep on the far side of the clearing, understanding now why he'd wanted to sleep far away from her. How had he even been able to look at her?

_He hadn't,_ a voice in the back of her head reminded her._ He'd been acting funny all week. Guilty_.

_He deserves to_, she thought resolutely._ After what he did_...

What did he do, exactly, though? He hadn't told her.

It didn't matter. He'd told her it was his fault. That was the only important thing.

Still... Why was she really mad? Because Art said it was his fault, yes, but there was something more.

Being honest with herself, she knew it was because he'd let her down. The idea that Art... sweet, harmless giant Art, who always made her feel safe without stifling her, could do something this horrible... That hurt her.

It was one of her big personality flaws, and she knew it: she always saw her idols as more than human, perfect, and capable of doing no wrong. And when they showed her just how human they really were, she hated them for it. She'd done it with her parents, with Sabrina, even with Puck. And now with Art. She knew it was wrong, and that she couldn't expect more of them than she did of herself, but she did it anyway.

Even if they did deserve it, most of the time.

She finally drifted off to sleep, still a bit steaming, but better than before, now that she knew her own mind.

When she woke the next morning, Art was looking at her. She forced herself not to turn away, though she did glare at him. It was going to be very difficult if she ignored her only companionship for who knows how long.

"Can I at least tell you the whole story?" Art asked. "I don't expect you to forgive me, I mean, I can't even forgive myself, but I want you to know everything. You deserve that much."

"You bet I do." Daphne muttered. "All right, tell me." She told him, louder.

Art began, "In the battle... Tim was... Well, he was walking around, and that drove me nuts, 'cause he'd been calling me a liar for decades about that, and now he was just... So, anyway, what happened was, he was up in the sky, and he called for help, and I... I didn't go to him. I was fighting someone on my own, and I figured he'd get a little banged up, and it would serve him right. I never meant for it to... I didn't mean... By the time I thought better of it, it was too late. I was going to go help, but he'd fallen already. And it was because I let my stupid ego get in the way. I can't believe I was that selfish."

Daphne sat there for a second, stunned, while Art looked at the ground. After her brain had calmed down, she said, "I can't forgive you-" Art looked even further down, shrinking, and she continued, "Yet."

Art looked up, hope in his eyes.

Daphne continued again, saying, "And... even if I could, Art, I don't think it's me who needs to forgive you."

"Who does, then?" Art asked glumly.

"You." Daphne said simply.

"How?" Art asked. "How on earth can I- I'm a murderer!"

"You're not, Art." Daphne said. "You made a mistake. A really bad mistake that I'm still mad at you for because it killed one of my best friends, but a mistake. And besides, Mr. Clay did it."

"But that wasn't him!" Art protested. "That was the wolf!"

"He doesn't feel that way, and neither do a lot of people." Daphne shrugged. "But he managed to forgive himself. And he learned from it, after, learned to control himself."

"So... what should I do?" Art asked.

Daphne shrugged and said, "Maybe tell people. You can start with Granny, she'll listen. And don't start with 'I killed Tim!' for goodness sakes!"

"Sorry." Art said meekly.

"That, I forgive you for." Daphne told him.

"Things are never going to be the same between us, are they?" Art asked.

Daphne shook her head. "Probably not. But things were never going to be the same after Tim died, anyway."

"I really am sorry." Art said.

"I know." Daphne said.

And that was enough, for now.

* * *

It took two weeks to get everyone to safety, or almost everyone. Peter and Wendy were still missing, and so was Peaseblossom. Sabrina had been instructed firmly to stay in the house, and she and Daphne had been caught trying to get around this seven times. She and Puck had been caught doing the same thing twelve times. She was just glad they hadn't been caught doing anything else.

It was hard, because the house was extremely crowded. The Emerald Foot had gained two hundred of the five hundred or so neutral parties in the town, all of whom had been forced out of their homes by the giants, and decided they were sick of the Scarlet Hand's behavior, and ready to fight back, and the Fort and the Golden Egg were both full, so the refugees were moved into the Grimm's house and Puck's room until the giants were taken care of and rebuilding could begin.

Most of the town was demolished, though Mab's castle stood strong, and Daphne was fortifying trees all the time, so the majority of the forest was still upright.

The Giants had almost been rounded up, another three weeks later. Sabrina was glad, because she wanted to leave the yard.

Snow was visiting presently. She'd found a way through Charming's mirror that meant she could make it safely, and she was talking to the parents while Sabrina not-so-secretly listened in.

"I don't know what we're going to do about school." Snow said. "We don't have a building anymore. I suppose we could rebuild, but we're supposed to start in a week, and the giants won't even all be gone by then, unless there's a miracle."

"Have the classes in the Hall of Wonders." Granny said immediately. "Just until you get things set up."

Veronica nodded. "That way you can use the things there for training. We can help. I think it's time to stop with the normal schooling anyway."

"What about Smirt?" Jake asked. "Won't she insist?"

Snow laughed. "Have you seen that woman recently? She's had a complete breakdown. She's in Sprat's tent, babbling."

"Then we can help." Henry said, and Sabrina was proud of her dad and how far he'd come. "We know how to use most of the things that are left, and mom knows her way around, so we can instruct them on how to use a lot of the things."

Sabrina left. The rest wasn't going to be important, and they'd tell her anyway. Besides, she wanted to see how far her former torturer had fallen.

"Hey, Daphne." Sabrina said, poking her head into their bedroom. "Wanna go see Smirt?"

Daphne wrinkled her nose and asked, "Why on earth would I want to do that?"

Sabrina grinned conspiratorially and said, "I think you'll like what you'll see."

Daphne gave Sabrina a wary look but got off the bed and followed Sabrina into their parents' room and through the mirror. When they reached the Fort, Sabrina led the way to the hospital tent and walked in. She couldn't believe Bella hadn't told her about this!

Smirt was lying on the bed closest to the door, moaning. She'd gained weight, her eyes had thick dark circled under them, and her hair was, while still in its bun, coming loose messily.

Daphne snickered. Sabrina grinned.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Sabrina whispered.

Daphne giggled louder, then sobered up. "I... I shouldn't. This is mean, making fun of her when she's like this."

Sabrina shrugged. "I kind of think she deserves it."

Daphne studied Smirt for a bit, then nodded. "Yeah." She agreed. "She does."

Then they both collapsed in laughter, reveling in Smirt's disgrace as she moaned, "fairies..."

* * *

Home again, Sabrina was waiting. She wasn't quite sure what she was waiting for, but she knew she was waiting. For something to happen. Anything. It was horrible, the waiting.

She was sick of it. She wanted to move around, do something, use her training. Find the Scarlet Hand.

She was going to do something about it. She was going to draw the Scarlet Hand out of hiding.

But... how?

And now she was back to waiting.

* * *

She waited for a very long time. By the time the Giants were finally gone, she'd started school, and she wasn't allowed to help with the army's endeavors to get the Scarlet Hand to 'do something, dangit!' as Mr. Seven had said, but she was allowed to help with the rebuilding effort, such as it was.

They'd started with the school. It was nice to not have to deal with the Scarlet Hand members in classes at the moment, though she missed the Beast. A little. Even if he was on the wrong side.

Charming had taken over her swordmanship lessons, and he was good, though his style was incredibly different from the Beast's, and Mr. Seven was teaching strategy. She had almost no classes with Puck or Bella, who were working with Boarman and Swineheart and Morgan, respectively, but she didn't see the point. She felt useless.

That is, until Charming pulled her and the core of the study group aside one day in October, secretly.

"What do you want?" Puck asked brashly.

Charming glared at him and said, "I need you to go on a mission."

Sabrina stared. "You're sending _us_ out?" She asked. "What about all that stuff about nobody under eighteen doing anything?"

Charming shook his head. "That was the plan, but it's flawed. Most of this crowd are too stuck on your physical ages to recognize that the people standing in front of me have made more headway than any of us ever have. I think it's time to take advantage of one of our biggest assets: you. Even if some of you have less experience than could be hoped for, you have a way of looking at things that's different, that the Scarlet Hand can't stand against. We need you, if we're going to win this thing."

Daphne grinned at him and said, "I knew you weren't hopeless."

"How are you going to get us out, though?" Mustardseed asked thoughtfully. "We're bound to be noticed."

"The plan is to send several groups out." Charming said. "You'll leave after them."

"What are we going to be doing, exactly?" Bella asked.

"I leave that entirely up to you." Charming said. "You have whatever resources you can take without hampering the rest of us too badly, and you're free to plan whatever you want. But it had better be good." He glared at them sternly. "We're counting on you."


	117. Peaseblossom Again

**AN~ Sorry this took a little longer than usual. We just got home, and there were many things to do, and much boyfriend to be catching up with.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Pretty much everyone who suggested a legitimate betrayal. Seems that's the only in character thing I have yet to do. Any more ideas would still be welcome. But step up to claim your prizes, everyone!  
**

New QotD: If you were an insect, which would you bee (see what I did there?)? Why?

**.**

_****__**lovespuck:**_**^.^ ********You need an account to write a story. Do you have one? QotD: Gonna be kind of hard to have that happen when they're all out being heroes.**

_**PenguinLoverGurl:**_** I'm glad you liked that bit! I have no idea what a DSIXL is, but I'm glad you have a bigger screen. QotD: Renee/Mustardseed are already together... But Bella/Wendell I was already planning on. Smirt is insane, and was a teacher before, so that won't happen. Art... No. Just no. What do you mean, Red's been excluded? The what you wanted was for the prize for winning the QotD.**

_**fan without an account: **_**Ch. 61: ****Moth was never in the Scarlet Hand, remember? She was working on her own. Also she's in jail. Ch. 119: Any reviews make me happy. :) This is the second longest story in the archive. QotD: 1) Planning on it. 2) Haven't I been? 3) traitor, not traiter, has already been suggested, and maybe an injury.**

_**Book geek: **_**Thanks very much! I remember getting a review from Lee Jordan on something else, recently. Glad you enjoyed it!****  
**

* * *

The adults were off on their various enterprises after two long weeks of waiting, and it was time for the kids to head out.

Sabrina hadn't been able to claim the chicken house for their use, because Charming said it would cause too much notice if it disappeared, and then the other adults would get on their case and make them stay behind, which couldn't be allowed to happen. She had, however, laid claim to several unicorns and pegasi for riding purposes, two magical tents that Daphne said reminded her of Harry Potter, and a tablecloth that put out endless food. She'd been in charge of the practical end of their supplies, along with Marcus, who wasn't allowed near magical things, for the same reason she wasn't.

Bella, who, along with Wendell (they'd gotten back together at some point, and Sabrina hadn't been informed), was working on the medical angle, had a huge bag full of minor medical supplies and a jar full of something she wouldn't explain to Sabrina.

Everyone else had been charged to find whatever weapons and magical items they could take without the adults noticing, and they'd done a pretty good job, altogether. Sabrina had decided to stick with her sword, though Puck had handed her a white shirt that he said would keep her safe, mostly, as long as she wore it. She didn't know what the others had, but she hoped it was good.

They- all twenty-some of them- were heading for the doorway when Mr. Clay stopped them. He'd had to stay behind, and he hated it, so he was in a horrible mood. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" he asked gruffly.

"Leaving," Daphne said.

"You can't," Mr. Clay told them. "It's stupid, and you're going to get yourselves killed if you keep running off to play hero! Let the adults handle it."

Sabrina gave him a thoughtful look. What was _he _doing here, anyway? Wasn't he supposed to be at the fort? She grinned at him slightly. "And stay here?" she asked, "Like you're supposed to be doing?"

"That's different," Mr. Clay said, though his face lost a bit of its stiffness.

"Yeah, it is," Jonas said, "Because we're supposed to be going! You're sneaking out, and we're on orders!"

Now he looked surprised, and he let out a strangled, "What?"

Puck nodded, grinning, and said, "From Charming. So you can either let us go or complain to him."

"But if you do that, we'll totally snitch that you were trying to sneak out, too," Annie told him.

Mr. Clay looked torn, and Sabrina could understand why. He wanted them to be safe, but he wanted to get out as much as they did, and talking with Charming about his decision would just cause problems for everyone. After a moment, though, he seemed to reach a conclusion, and he said, "I'll just have to go with you."

There were several exclamations over this, but Sabrina nodded. It seemed like the perfect conclusion to her. "Come on, then," she said.

And then everyone turned to her and stared, still protesting.

"What?" she asked. "It makes sense. This way he'll know we're safe, and he's not going to tell on us, and he gets to leave like he wants. I don't see the problem here."

"But he's a grown-up!" one of the lost boys, Sabrina never had memorized their names, because they seemed a little interchangeable, but he was smaller than most, protested.

Art, who was still trying to work his way back into Sabrina's good graces, even after explaining everything, cut in, saying, "No, I think she's right. We're not doing this to prove people under eighteen are capable, we're doing it to help. And Mr. Clay can help, even without the wolf." Because that was why he'd had to stay back. People were afraid for him.

Eventually, all the kids came around, and Mr. Clay left with them. The argument, though, put them an hour behind, and Sabrina was anxious. They'd decided their first course of action was to find Peaseblossom, Peter Pan, and Wendy. Or what was left of them. She hoped it wasn't that, though.

Daphne had found a string that led her to whatever she asked it for, and so she whispered 'Peaseblossom' into it once they were finally out of the yard, and they were off on a long, winding, crazy trek that went in a million directions.

* * *

Mab stormed into the meeting hall of her castle, late for the summit of the major Scarlet Hand members. This was unusual for two reasons: first, Mab rarely stormed, because she considered herself above flights of temper. Second, she considered punctuality a very important virtue, especially for a host. Tom Thumb, who was sitting on the head of the Master (he didn't notice, having no feeling in his body) took note of this. He hoped she'd explain why shortly.

"Tardy, Mab?" The Master asked.

Mab glared at him and said, "My son has disappeared!" Oh good, she had. This was interesting.

"Can't you keep control of any of your children, Mab?" Nottingham asked dryly.

"He's run off after that fool wife of his!" Mab snapped, waving a piece of paper Tom hadn't noticed in the air. "Left a note and everything, says he's decided our war isn't worth losing the love of his life, or some nonsense like that."

Well, that was less interesting that Tom had hoped. But at least that prince had finally grown a set and stopped moping around in Tom's room. People in love were such idiots. He didn't understand them at all.

"He's done what?" The Beast asked, his scarred eyebrows raised thoughtfully.

"Yes, of course he has!" Mab snapped. "What of it?"

The Beast just shook his head. "It's just... how much must he have cared about her to do that..."

"I hope you're not getting any ideas, Beast," Heart snapped.

"Of course not," The Beast growled.

Tom wasn't so sure about that. But now the Beast was looking at him, and the Master was noticing his eyes turn upward, and it was time for Tom to go, so he popped off his Master's head and to the chandelier. He wasn't supposed to be at the meeting, but he'd never been particularly fond of rules, and he wanted to know what they were going to discuss. Maybe they were planning to actually do something, instead of hiding like cowards.

"Anyway, I think we've had enough distractions," Dr. Jekyll said, sounding bored. "We've been called here for a reason, and as long as I'm not the only one that remembers, I believe it's time to get on with it."

"Yes, thank you," The Master snapped.

The others around the table closed their mouths. Tom shook his head. They were all cowards. That was the only reason he'd ever let the boy rescue his friends. He, at least, was brave. And smart. Everyone here was always complaining about how they wanted freedom, but nobody was willing to do it on their own. All of them stupid and cowardly, like sheep, following their shepherd, the Master.

He was starting to outline his plan, though, so Tom stopped mocking the big people below him and started listening: "We've been here too long. It's time to start moving. They're sitting ducks in their unprotected fort, we'll strike there first."

"What are we going to do, then?" Mab asked, and Tom heard the tremble in her voice. She wanted to stay safe at home in her castle.

"We'll lead a march on them," The Master said, "Dragons. Sunday at dawn. Unless, of course, someone has a conflict?"

This might almost have been a joke, Tom thought, if his tone weren't so cruel. The Master rarely joked, so this was a surprise. He must be in a good mood, with the giant attack. The people below kept their mouths shut. Something smart for once.

"It's settled, then," The Master said, satisfied. "Now let's discuss strategy."

This part Tom wasn't interested in. They'd argue for several hours, and he'd just be told the end result anyway. Besides, it was astoundingly frustrating not to be able to offer suggestions. So he popped back to his room, furnished both for someone full-sized and for him at his present height, grabbed his favorite sword, and popped to Mab's son's head, because he could find a head without knowing where it was.

"What the-" Mab's son, whose name was Cricket (Grasshopper, really, but he hated that), jumped a bit when he felt something materialize on his head, but Tom was already on the ground, and full sized, so he just glared at him and said, "Don't _do_ that, Tom!"

"Sorry," Tom shrugged. "Just wanted to congratulate you on no longer being a spineless coward."

"You're such a supportive friend," Cricket said dryly.

"You've known me for three hundred years. When have I ever been supportive?" Tom pointed out. "I'm a jerk and I know it. But you chose to hang out with me, so you can deal with it."

Cricket grinned, then frowned. "You're not here to bring me back, are you?"

Tom made a face and shook his head. "To those idiots?" he asked.

"If they're such idiots, why do you stay?" Cricket asked.

Tom shrugged. "Nothing better to do. And I betcha the other side is just as stupid. Except those kids. Some of them are all right."

"Go help them out, then," Cricket suggested. The unspoken words were _it's what I'm planning to do_.

Tom shook his head with a grin. "Nah. Being on the side that's going to lose is way more interesting."

"The what?" Cricket asked.

"They're going to lose," Tom said. "You didn't know that?"

"How can you be so sure?" Cricket demanded.

Tom grinned cheekily and said, "Because we're the bad guys. The bad guys always lose."

"This isn't one of your stories, Tom! This is real life!" Cricket snapped.

Tom loved getting Cricket angry. It was nice to see him actually put up a fight. He thought that was the secret to getting everyone to fight back: get them angry. So he grinned at Cricket and said, "We're all fairy tale characters to the humans. Why shouldn't it work out like that? And besides," he grinned, stretching his arms above his head, "the bad guys have always lost before, haven't they? We're proof of that. Why should it change now?"

"Have you looked at the odds?" Cricket pointed out.

"Well, if you're so sure their side's going to lose, then why are you joining them?" Tom pointed out.

Cricket shrugged. "She's worth more to me than winning is. I learned that when she left."

Tom blinked. Peaseblossom? Really? Sure, she was a nice enough girl and all, and pretty, but was she really worth going into a battle you were almost positive you weren't going to win, surrounded by people who hated you, and making all your old friends hate you, too?

People in love really were stupid.

Still, Cricket was the closest thing he had to a friend, so he told him, "I've seen the odds. And they're all scared to death to do anything. The side you're joining has a fighting chance from anyone's point of view."

"But you're staying with them anyway," Cricket said.

Tom grinned at Cricket and said, "Ye-up. I'm too much of a jerk for anyone else to take me."

"Pretty much." Cricket smiled back at his friend. "Good luck to you, Tom. Try not to get killed."

"When have I ever been stupid enough to let that happen?" Tom asked the air. "Go find your girl, Cricket. I hope she's worth it."

As Tom bounced back to Mab's castle, he heard Cricket say, "Oh she is, Tom. She is." He shook his head again. He'd never understand love.

* * *

Peaseblossom had been wandering around in the woods for days, maybe even weeks. She'd hurt her left wing in the battle with the giants, and she couldn't fly, or even retract the wing, so she was stuck wandering around the endless mountainous woods of Upstate New York, hoping she'd come across something she recognized, and not get stomped by a giant. She'd though she'd seen the Chicken House once, from a distance, but by the time she got to where it had been, it was gone again, and it hadn't stopped when she'd called.

It would have helped if she could have at least climbed a tree or something, but her injured wing got in the way enough on the ground, she didn't even want to try clambering up through branches that would snap and snag and sting her weak points. So she was stuck on the ground, cold and wet and lonely and hungry and in pain.

So the day she saw another figure coming towards her in the woods, she ran for it, not caring who it was. She just wanted companionship. She'd even be willing to be brought to prison in Mab's castle, if it came down to it!

But when she saw who it was: Cricket, her ex-husband, the boy she'd loved once, and maybe still did, the prince who'd allowed her to be kept captive in a place she hated, she stopped. Maybe loneliness was better than a companionship that would just hurt them both. She turned to go, but she wasn't fast enough. Cricket's hand was wrapped around her wrist before she got ten feet away.

"Peaseblossom," he said softly, "please."

She shook her head, tugging away from him, not saying anything. Please what? Please come back with me so we can be unhappy together? Please be brave so I don't have to? Please... She didn't even know.

"Can you just listen to me for a minute?" Cricket asked, and Peaseblossom didn't look at him. She knew if she saw the look on his face, she'd melt right there and give him what he wanted. It had happened before. "Just one minute. You can go then, if you want."

"Promise?" Peasblossom asked warily, ceasing her struggle momentarily.

"I swear on... I don't know what to swear on, Pease. What do you want me to swear?"

"Don't," Peaseblossom was the one pleading now. How was it that he could still turn her to jelly like this? Even after she'd told him she was done? Even after years of being without him, after knowing there was nowhere else they could go, that they were just too wrong for each other? Why did he still do this to her, without even doing anything?

She'd give him his minute, and more if he asked. She knew that. Because she just couldn't stop loving him, despite the fact that they just wouldn't work, even though his mother wanted to kill her entire family, even though all her friends hated him, even though he didn't understand. So she sat down on the damp dead leaves, pulling him with her because he was still holding her wrist, and said, "Talk."

"I've left the Hand," Cricket started.

Peaseblossom snorted, interrupting. The idea of Cricket going against his mother for anything, let alone something so important as this, was ridiculous.

"No, really, I have!" Cricket protested.

"All right," Peaseblossom said skeptically, afraid to get her hopes up, "Say you're telling the truth. Why would you leave? You had everything, there!"

"I didn't have you," Cricket said, and his voice sounded so sincere, so sad, and it was something she'd wanted to hear so much, that she almost gave in right there.

But she held herself strong, knowing that, if this was a trick by Mab to bring her in, it would be the first thing the queen would try, so she said, "And what made you change your mind? I was never worth standing up for before." Between them hung the unspoken words _I was never enough to go against Mab_.

"I don't know," Cricket confessed, "but I know I was being idiotic before, Pease. I finally know... you're more important to me. You... and our baby."

And that clinched it. She couldn't fight it anymore, couldn't stand against how much she absolutely _wanted_ him, how much she needed this boy-man before her, how he completed her even if she'd always been the brave one, the strong one, the one who set their limits, how right everything felt when he was there. Even if it was wrong, she was done fighting. Let it be a betrayal. If he loved their baby, then she couldn't stop him from coming back into her life.

She collapsed into his arms and let him hug her, and kiss her like he hadn't in centuries, and suddenly, they were making up for lost time and finding lost feelings, and it was wonderful, to be with her husband again, even if they were together on a disgusting carpet of soggy leaves and decaying sticks, and he was nervous, and part of her was still screaming 'wait!' and this could never be right, no matter how much she wanted it, because it was the most amazing feeling in the world, being loved by someone she loved back.

They fell asleep like that, and, because she was asleep, Peaseblossom didn't even notice as her body did something it hadn't in millenia: it began to age. Slowly, gradually, in a way that wouldn't hurt the baby growing inside, her body grew older.

When she woke the next morning, it was to find Cricket sitting up, caressing her face, with such a tender look in his eyes that her heart nearly melted. But she had to stay strong.

"This doesn't mean you're off the hook, you know," Peaseblossom said sternly. "I have a friend who can tell whether or not you're lying, and as soon as I can, I'm going to verify your story with her. And if it's not..." She let her voice trail off warningly.

"All right," Cricket said agreeably. "How soon can we do that?"

"As soon as we find them," Peaseblossom said, blushing a little. "I'm kind of... lost."

Cricket groaned. "Peaseblossom..."

"It's not my fault!" Peaseblossom protested. "It was the giant attack! And it's not like I can fly!"

Cricket gave a resigned sigh and said, "Well, I guess we'd better start walking, then. Come on."

They set off, their trail wandering aimlessly through the woods, making frequent stops to catch up on learning each other's bodies, changing direction each time.


	118. L'Amour

**AN~ Well, it's still technically Friday. And I'm better than last week, when it was almost Sunday. Maybe next week it'll be Friday proper! (Side notes: I just watched Soul Surfer, and can't believe I didn't see it sooner, and Brave, which was absolutely fantabulous.)**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: jr ride, who says she'd be a stickbug.  
**

New QotD: Your favorite piece of furniture, your worst enemy, and a strange dog are all trapped together on an island in the middle of the ocean, with no idea how you got there and no other forms of life. What happens next?

**.**

_****__**Anonymous the second:**_****** Puckabrina has never been a major part of this story. That's not going to change just 'cause they're together. You may notice that most of one chapter was focused on Daphne, and Sabrina wasn't even there. Glad you liked it, though. QotD: You answered the QotD for a previous chapter, I'm pretty sure. This one was about bugs. Bunny doesn't quite fit here, though... Also Henry doesn't really DO those after book seven, really. Haven't you noticed? The Angry!Henry is all the fandom, not the character.********  
**

_****__**Anonymous the first: **_******You're welcome and thank you! ********You guys are going to have to start signing these things 'til they give you names back... **

_****__**l**__****__**ovespuck: **_******Really? 'Cause I searched you, and I'm not getting any results. If you have an account, it's all explained in the 'Publish' area. I doubt they'll be doing much resting. (a large portion of your review wasn't, so moving on to the QotD) That'd be neat.**

* * *

"I found Peaseblossom," Daphne said, looking around a tree. Her voice was strange, rather strangled and confused-sounding.

They'd been wandering on their twisting journey through the woods all day, and Sabrina was extremely grateful for the horses they'd snagged. At least, that's what she kept telling herself, every time they bounced, as he thighs ached and her butt turned into one giant bruise. It was dark, now, and most of the others (some of whom had been complaining and suggesting that they weren't needed for this journey, at which Sabrina had suggested they go home and be useless again) had wanted to set up camp. But Puck and Mustardseed had refused, saying that they weren't stopping until they found their sister.

Sabrina didn't blame them in the least, but she was about ready to fall asleep, even sitting on her extremely displeased walking Pegasus (she hadn't wanted to try a unicorn and be denied), which she'd named Bumpy. But the tone Daphne used woke her up immediately.

"So why don't you sound happy?" Sabrina asked warily.

"She's... in the middle of something," Daphne said, "With someone else."

"Like what?" Puck asked.

"Like... kissing. Kind of. A lot of kissing," Daphne said, biting her lip and not looking at anyone.

Now Puck looked utterly lost as he asked, "Who would she be kissing?"

Sabrina, grateful for an excuse to get off Bumpy's back, slid awkwardly to the ground and, walking with her legs bent out just a bit too much, followed Daphne to the tree, peering around it. On the other side of the particularly thick oak was Peaseblossom, with her eyes closed, pressed against the trunk of another tree, an expression on her face that embarrassed Sabrina as much as she was sure it must have embarrassed Daphne, being kissed extremely passionately on places other than her lips by a boy with his back to them. Sabrina's eyes bugged out and she whipped back around the tree, sure her face was the color of Red's shoes.

"What?" Puck asked, seeing the look on her face.

"They're definitely kissing, all right," Sabrina said tightly, her mouth twisted up and her eyes still huge. "And it's..." Sabrina found herself unable to describe what she'd seen.

She didn't have to, though, because several others had peered around the tree by this time, though Puck stayed by her (she was touched that he'd stuck closer to her than his sister), and now Annie was screeching, "Aaah! My virgin eyes!"

Mustardseed, who had also looked, came up to Puck and said quietly, "Cricket."

"Who?" Daphne asked.

"Her ex-husband," Puck explained, and how his eyes bugged out, too.

"So... what?" Eve asked. "Has she been playing us this whole time? On their side and just pretending to work for us?"

Puck shook his head. "Pease wouldn't do that."

"It sure looks like she would right now," Marcus said darkly. "I mean, what else could it be?"

"They could still be in love, and be meeting here in secret so they can be together," Jane suggested. "Like Romeo and Juliet."

"Only one way to find out," Sabrina said, and turned, ready to confront Peaseblossom. She'd know whether or not she was lying in a minute.

But when she turned, Peaseblossom and her possibly ex husband were standing right there.

"Oh," Daphne said, "Hi."

"How'd you know we were here?" Alice asked.

"You were kind of extremely loud," Peaseblossom said, giving Annie a look. The other girl blushed, giggling a little.

"Right," Sabrina said, "So, now that we're all here together, explanations. Now."

Peaseblossom nodded, and launched into her explanation willingly. The only time Sabrina saw her face flash red was when she said, "I'm fine", which Sabrina found odd. After, she turned to the boy- Cricket, Mustardseed had said, and he told his story, which rang just as true to Sabrina.

She nodded and said, "All right. He's in the clear. But Peaseblossom, you're not okay. And you know it."

Peaseblossom nodded and turned, showing them her mangled wing.

All the fairies hissed. Sabrina assumed getting one's wing injured was worse than she'd imagined, even seeing Puck after his had been ripped off (of course that was bad! her mind protested. They were completely gone!).

"Here, let me help," Bella said, coming forward. "Wendell, can you grab my bag? It's still on the horse."

"Pegasus," Daphne corrected.

"Whatever."

Bella led Peaseblossom off to the side, then made a face. "There's nowhere clean around here. How am I supposed to doctor someone in conditions like this?"

"We could set up the tents," Renee suggested, "Since it's dark and everything."

"Can it wait a bit longer?" Daphne asked, looking around with her brows furrowed. "I know this place. It's where Art-" Sabrina cut off a growl "-and I stayed when the giants attacked. I have somewhere we can be safe, if you don't mind a bit of a walk."

There were some groans, but everyone agreed eventually, and Daphne led the way on her unicorn (named Princess) though a tight, winding trail. They eventually came out in a mossy clearing that was familiar to her and Art, at least, if none of the others, and began setting up the tents in the almost-darkness of the web of leafless branches overhead.

By the time the tents (which had been hit with Uncle Jake's stretching powder) were set up, it was almost one in the morning, by Sabrina's estimation, but Bella was determined to work on Peaseblossom's wing _right then_.

"She's had that injury for weeks!" Bella protested. "If I don't fix it as soon as possible, who knows what'll happen!"

"Fine." Sabrina muttered. "But if you need a light on-"

"I do," Bella said.

Sabrina groaned and muttered, "I'm sleeping in the guy's tent."

"No you're not!" one of the lost boys protested. "We have to change in here!"

"Fine," Sabrina groused, "Then I'll just sleep outside."

She did, lying there under the stars while most of the girls tried to sleep inside, despite Bella's fixing noises- how loud did she have to be to work on a wing?- and her light, and Peaseblossom's moans. Sabrina was pretty sure that she'd gotten a better night's sleep than any other females on the trip, but that didn't stop her from being exhausted when she woke up the next morning, sunlight streaming on her face in dappled patches, one of which was pointed directly at her eye.

She groaned and rolled over, determined to go back to sleep, but she rolled directly into something hard, so she pulled back and blinked at it, her brow furrowed. It was a... foot? A foot in a large, muddy boot. Who did she know who wore boots?

She let her eyes wander up the leg and saw Puck at the top of them. That was odd. She didn't even know he owned boots. She told him so.

Puck snickered and said, "Good morning to you, too."

"Morning," Sabrina said, smiling at him, "Where are the boots from?"

Puck shrugged and said, "I figured practical shoes, since we'd be walking around a lot. And I found them in the basement."

Sabrina found that the brief conversation had woken her entirely too much for her to fall back asleep, so she rose, still bleary, and asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"Nothing, yet," Puck told her, "It's, like, six. We're the only two people up."

"Mmm..." Sabrina said, leaning in to him with a little smile, "That means we get to- make whatever we want!" She pulled back and went off to rummage through the packs of food.

Puck, who had been leaning back into Sabrina eagerly (they hadn't had much alone time in the past few days, and both were missing it, looked at her, shocked and disappointed, and said, "You_ tease_!"

Sabrina turned back and winked at him, then said, "What do you want to eat?"

Puck muttered something that sounded incredibly like 'revenge', but headed over to see what his options were. "That," he said, pointing out a box of pancake mix.

"Go start a fire, then?" Sabrina asked, pulling out the selected box and rummaging around for oil and a box of dehydrated egg-like flakey things. "I have to find the pan and stuff."

"Sure," Puck said, turning. As he headed off, he smacked Sabrina's butt- hard.

She dropped the pancake mix, and with a small shriek, turned to glare at him. He just grinned at her and said, "Payback."

"See if I make you pancakes again," Sabrina told him, still glaring and rubbing her behind.

"You love me," Puck told her nonchalantly, an easy grin on his face as he turned to the already-made pile of firewood in the pit left by Daphne and Art, to light it.

"You sure about that?" Sabrina asked, turning back to the pack, still hunting for the egg stuff.

"No," Puck said simply, "But I know that I love you."

Sabrina stopped moving, her eyes widening. "Y-you love me?" She asked. He'd never said that before.

"Yeah," he said, looking at her scantwise. "Was that the wrong thing to say?"

"No. No!" Sabrina hurried to assure him, "It was just... unexpected, is all. It's... wow. You love me. Wow." She grinned, rummaging again. Maybe she'd make him pancakes more than once after all.

She and Puck worked on breakfast silently for a minute, Sabrina, having found everything she needed, heading over to a stream running through the glen to get water for both the powdered egg and the mix itself, Puck stacking wood and working up a belch. After he'd exploded the wood into flames, he stood a rickety metal grate over it and turned to Sabrina, his eyebrows together.

Sabrina, coming towards the fire bearing a heavy skillet and a bowl of batter, looked at him curiously, her leftover smile faltering. "What?" she asked.

"You didn't say it back," he pointed out. "Don't you... Do you, too?" He didn't seem to be able to get all the words out.

"Puck, I-" Sabrina started to say, pulling a little closer to him, her expression intensifying, but at that moment, the boy's tent flap opened, and Mr. Clay walked out, giving them an odd look.

His expression blanked out for a second, almost as if he'd decided he didn't want to know, and then he asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes," Sabrina told him, keeping her face just as blank. She wasn't sure if she was upset they'd been interrupted or relieved she didn't have to deal with the suddenly tense air between her and Puck.

Puck gave her a look that suggested _this isn't over yet_, and she placed the buttered skillet down on the grate, pouring pancake batter into it, letting herself be absorbed by the cooking, and smothering a yawn. She hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep to function right, and she hoped that finding Peter and Wendy would be easier than finding Peaseblossom had been. Hopefully they'd be nearby, staying put, and found by three in the afternoon. Then they could have camp set up by dinner, and she could go to bed early.

As she was planning her optimum second day out (because the first had been less than the best), the others started to stumble out of the tents, looking just as tired as she felt, taking her pancakes as fast as she could eat them. Halfway through feeding her crew, she ran out of mix, and was about to relay the news to everyone else when Peaseblossom appeared at her shoulder with another bowlful.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, taking the bowl and pouring more batter.

"No problem," Peaseblossom said with a smile, sitting down next to her. "We didn't get to catch up last night, really. I mean, you know my bare bones, but I don't know what's going on here, really, or what your life has been like at all."

Sabrina shrugged and said, "It's been busy. We're here on a mission to kick the Scarlet Hand's butt however we want, ordered by Charming, and I ended up in charge with Mustardseed somehow, and I have no idea what we're doing other than looking for Peter Pan and Wendy. Once we get that done..." She trailed off and shrugged, "Well, it's up in the air. How's your wing?"

Peaseblossom shrugged. "It hurts. But Bella fixed it up a bit so now it'll heal right, as long as I don't move it too much."

"Soo..." Sabrina asked, "What's this mean, exactly?"

"I won't be able to transform or fly, pretty much," Peaseblossom explained. "I'm kind of useless at the moment, sorry."

Sabrina shrugged, pouring more batter into the pan and said, "I'm just glad to have you back. Even if you brought a tagalong."

They both looked scantways at Cricket, and Peaseblossom smiled. "I just...can't resist, you know? He's... well, he's not that great a guy, if I'm honest. He's kind of weak-willed, and a bit of a coward. But he's so sweet, and I love him in spite of everything, you know? And now that he's left for me, there's nothing to keep us apart."

Sabrina very carefully looked not at Puck and said, "I guess."

Peaseblossom looked at her and laughed. "Yeah, you probably wouldn't know. You're still young enough that you haven't learned what it is to love someone's faults along with the rest of them."

Sabrina stared at the pan hard, her face flaming. Did she love Puck like that? For his good points and his bad ones? Did she even love him? How did she know what love was? It occurred to her that Peaseblossom was the best person to ask about love, at least the best person she had available, until she got back to her mom. So she said, "You must be lucky. I mean, how many people fall in love with someone from an arranged marriage?"

Peaseblossom smiled knowingly and said, "You'd be surprised. Most parents who arrange a marriage try to pick someone their child will get along with, at least, and the... closeness, over time it can grow into something more, if they weren't in love already." Seeing the look on Sabrina's face she hurriedly added, "I'm not saying that it's the best option, but a lot of the time, parents have their kids' best interests at heart, and it can work out."

"How'd it happen?" Sabrina asked, handing her a pancake. "I mean, you're really different, and I know neither of your parents were planning on finding someone suited for you."

"We got on horribly at first," Peaseblossom said, taking the pancake. "But we learned to deal with each other after a year or so, and we were both teenagers, and our bodies wanted... physical closeness, so one night I gave in. And after that... it's a bond that's hard to break, once you've been that close. So the emotional ties grew out of it."

Sabrina was flushing for a different reason, now, remembering how she'd seen Peaseblossom the night before, and thinking of the phrase 'physical closeness'. After she'd composed herself, she asked, "And... how'd you know? When it was love, I mean."

Peaseblossom smiled dreamily and said, "I don't think there was an actual moment when I just knew. It was a long transition. I think if I had to put a marker on it, it'd be the day he was almost taken down by a dragon. It scared me to death, and I realized that I didn't think I could live without him."

Sabrina blinked, thinking 'whoa', but then frowned. "But you did live without him," she pointed out.

Peaseblossom shrugged. "Well, we have to change, sometimes. And I decided that my happiness wasn't worth everyone else's."

"You seemed pretty happy, though," Sabrina said, frowning a little, "Most of the time."

Peaseblossom shrugged again and said, "I guess I learned to cope."

"Was it hard?" Sabrina asked, pouring the last of the batter into the pan and looking around to make sure she didn't need even more. She didn't. Good. The last pancake was hers.

"Incredibly, sometimes," Peaseblossom said, swallowing a mouthful. "But sometimes it was easy. And then I felt guilty. But I felt guilty when it was hard, too. It's so much easier now he's here."

Sabrina smiled and flipped the pancake. "I'm happy for you," she said sincerely.

Peaseblossom grinned. "Thanks. So... what's it been like for you guys? Really, I mean, not just the overview."

Sabrina, glancing at her pancake to gauge its doneness, said, "Your brother and I were stuck in a corner of the town for two whole weeks, Pease. Do you know what that was like for me?"

Peaseblossom laughed. "Poor baby."

"It's not funny!" Sabrina protested. "It was wet and I was wet, and our clothes smelled funny- well, his smelled funnier than usual, and it was cold, and all we had to eat were potato chips, and it was just the two of us, and- stop laughing!"

"Your pancake is burning," was all Peaseblossom replied with.

"Eep!" Sabrina shrieked, pulling her smoking breakfast off the fire and tossing it between her hands to keep from burning herself. Once it had cooled down enough that she could eat it without burning herself, she shoved it in her mouth, not bothering with syrup or butter or jam or even a plate. It was good. Even if it was burnt.

After everyone finished eating, the tents were packed up, the fire put out, the bags resealed, and everyone bundled onto their horse-type creatures. Unfortunately, they were now two short (and their extra pack Pegasus carried Mr. Clay), so Peaseblossom's husband turned himself into a palomino stallion, and Peaseblossom climbed onto him. Sabrina and Bumpy eyed each other warily, neither pleased about the arrangement they were being forced into, but eventually she ended up on his back, and they were off again, Daphne leading the way with her magic string.


	119. Did You Forget about Peter? I Didn't

**AN~ SORRY SORRY SORRY I OWE YOU ALL TREMENDOUSLY SO VERY SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU ALL NEXT CHAPTER, I PROMISE.**

**.**

**The Winner of Last QotD: Archer Princess. Because.  
**

New QotD: What can I do to make up for the fact that I was gone for a month?

**.**

_****__**Epiphany:**_******Epiphany on Toast? Yes? No? Maybe? Anyway, thanks! I like Tim. He's all snark. I will fix the errors! DO IT.**

_****__**Purpleflower23:**_******It's only fair, it's been a long time since I updated. Thanks so much for the compliments!**

_****__**Bookworm2000:**_****** Thanks! Glad the title worked!**

_****__**D.J: **_******Make another dude? What?**

_****__**Ysykaotwlsgotdys: **_******I'm sorry. I did, though!**

_****__**TheFuturesGrimm: **_******Apparently we are. Weird, isn't it? Thanks!**

_****__**Catnissmeows27: **_******A st. Bernard Yorkie would be one funny looking dog...**

_****__**Guest:**_******I don't really like being ordered around very much. Just saying.**

_****__**Paige:**_******Sorry about the wait. I've explained it in the AN up there.**

_****__**Tilly:**_******Thank you!**

_****__**Guest: **_******It's not annoying until you review more than twice without telling me anything.**

_****__**PenguinLoverGurl: **_******It's fine. I also took my time doing other summer stuff. I'd actually rather you have fun outside than read my fanfiction. Glad you liked it, though! Part Two: I'm so sorry! I'll definitely be praying for you and your family.**

_****__**karatequeen78: **_******Why wouldn't I?**

_****__**lovespuck:**_****** Then you win last week, too. What do you want? Also he kind of almost walked in on something but not quite. QotD: That's awful! Part Two: What's going on is explained above. And I actually felt more inclined to write before I read your peeved review, just so you know. I'm sorry. I can't fix it.**

_****__**Guest: **_******And what if she doesn't know? 'I love you' is a big thing to say, not something to rush into unless you're sure. I actually think it takes a bigger person to NOT say I love you than to say it.**

_****__**Polkadotnotebook: **_******Well, when you get here: hi! There will not be a sequel. Didn't you notice how LONG and in-progress there is? There's nothing left for me to do.**

_****__**Gallifreyengal: **_******Oops. I'll fix that. Thanks! QotD: Wow. Where are you getting a spare TARDIS?**

_****__**Anonymous of 117: **_******He is. I love her and him! Sorry. And don't get TOO mad.**

* * *

Peter had left to find Wendy. This wasn't the first time he'd done that, but it was the first time he'd gone to find her sure that she was in danger, and that he might be in very real danger if he went after her.

It was the first time he realized she was worth it.

Wendy had been like a mother to him ever since he'd come back for Jane. He'd learned his lesson from Jane, and he was a lot better about keeping track of things, and paying attention, now. But suddenly, he was remembering (an odd thing for Peter, memories as clear as these. Most of the time his past was a fog while he was lost in the endless _now_) days with Wendy, their childhood together, her stories, her beautiful tales, their almost-kisses and thimbles, and he was thinking: thinking about how she must have waited for him at the window for days, years even, and he'd never shown up. He'd lost track of time. But that was no excuse.

"I failed you once, Wendy," He muttered to himself as he flew, "I'm not going to do it again."

But he didn't know where she was, and this was a problem, because two years in Ferryport Landing hadn't taught him everything about it, and he didn't know where Wendy might hide. He didn't know her well enough anymore.

He had two choices: he could search for her blindly, or he could swallow his pride and call on someone he hadn't seen in decades.

He knew what he had to do. He had to put her first. So he took a deep breath and shouted a name he hadn't used in far too long: "Tinker _Bell_!"

And she was there, as if it had been no time at all, a sparkling jingle of yellow glow and impish eyes.

She wasn't going to like this. She wouldn't like it at all. She'd never liked Wendy.

So he started with, "Hi, Tink," and a smile, and a 'how've you been?"

Tinker Bell responded with a long merry explanation of her time between him and now, tinkling and whistling and clanging and waving her hands about. He tuned most of it out- fairy lives weren't particularly eventful.

When she finished, he said, "That's great. I'm sorry I haven't seen you in ages. But, Tink... I need your help."

And he saw that she knew, somehow. She knew and she was... okay with it. She flew forward and smiled at him, jingling 'come on, then!'

Tink led him straight to Wendy with no side trips, to a basement buried under a mudslide by the river's edge. She even helped him dig a way in, and was surprisingly helpful for something not even six inches tall.

"Wendy!" Peter called, for the fiftieth time. He'd been calling her Mrs. Wendy for a while, but he'd dropped that when he was searching for her. Somehow it didn't matter that she was a grown-up right now. She was just his friend, and in trouble.

There was a cough to his right, and he and Tink immediately switched digging directions. It was the first time they'd had any response, and it spurred them to go even faster.

When they finally made it to Wendy, she looked horrible. She'd been pinned down by a large joist over her stomach, and the joist had had a pile of rubble about three feet high on top of it. It took Peter and Tink almost an hour to get it moved off enough to lift the joist off of Wendy.

By then it was dark, and Tink ordered Peter to go set up camp while she started using her whatever-it-was (Peter wasn't sure) on Wendy.

Peter went with no complaints, even though he couldn't stand taking orders, normally. When he'd finished setting up a sort of tent made of trees and garbage about half a mile away and had a fire started, Tinker Bell showed up with a sleeping Wendy without him having to call her, and sat down to steal his hot dog.

Even then, Peter didn't complain. He just stuck another one on a stick and poked it into his fire and asked, "Why are you doing this, Tink?"

She looked at him and jangled questioningly.

"Why're you helping me?" Peter asked. "I mean, I've been... I was an awful friend. And we haven't talked in ages, or even really seen each other. But you just popped up and went adventuring with me like nothing happened!"

Tinker Bell shrugged her tiny shoulders and told him, in a series of musical notes, that: 'we're friends, Peter. And I love you. So I forgave you, because you love her."

Peter wrinkled his nose at the mention of love.

Tink smiled and told him that he'd better not deny it, because she knew.

He didn't. Instead, he changed the subject. "When will Wendy wake up?"

Tink told him that she would probably be awake by noon the next day.

"Oh. Guess we'll get a late start back," Peter said, not really minding, even if he did miss his friends. They were probably off doing something grown-up. "You... wanna come with us?"

Tink looked at him quizzically and asked if he meant it.

"Sure," Peter said, "I owe you, Tink. I was an awful friend. And you'll like it there, it's fun. The lost boys miss you."

Tink tells him yes, and she smiles.

And that makes it worth it, somehow.

* * *

When Peter came back to the rest of the group on his own, with not just the comatose Wendy, but Tinker Bell, too, Puck groaned. Sabrina decided to just be grateful that he was keeping his complaining to a place where nobody else could hear him.

"Here I was hoping that if we left, we wouldn't have to see the half-wit knockoff me again," he muttered to her.

"Oh, hush up and walk," Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You don't hate him nearly as much as you pretend to. I mean, look! You've been living in the same town as each other for two whole years and then some, and you haven't killed him yet! Sure sign you're just pretending to hate him."

Puck preened a little at the suggestion that he was a murderous fiend, and grinned. Then he remembered what was going on and snapped, "Just because I haven't killed him doesn't mean I don't hate him. If I killed all my enemies, who'd be left to fight with?"

"Your friends," Sabrina said dryly.

Puck grinned again. "What makes you think you're my friend, Grimm?"

"What makes you think I was talking about me?" Sabrina shot back. Then she added slyly, "But if I'm not your friend, then who is? I don't see anyone else willing to listen to you complain."

Puck stuck his tongue out at her and muttered, "Pillowbutt."

Sabrina winked at him and said, "You like it."

"You wish."

"Where are we even heading, now?" Sabrina asked, changing the subject. "We've found everyone, and they're safe. So are we just going to wander around 'til we meet up with the Scarlet Hand and kick their butts?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Puck told her with a grin.

"Yeah, well, I don't like it!" Sabrina snapped. "It's too... aimless. I want to have a purpose! A destination!"

"Whoa there," Puck said, putting his hands up. "Let's not get too heroic here, shall we?"

"Hey, you're the one who told me I'm a hero," Sabrina pointed out. "And it's not my fault I want to know what I'm doing."

"What you're doing is consoling me because I have to deal with a horrible copycat and his two friends," Puck told her. "Feel better?"

"No, you self-centered jerk," Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go talk with Mustardseed."

"But I'm not done yet!" Puck called after her as she kicked her horse faster. "I haven't even started ranting yet!"

"Rant to the horse!" Sabrina called back. "It cares more!"

When she reached Mustardseed, he turned away from Renee, who was riding next to him, and gave her an absentminded smile, still holding his girlfriend's hand. "What it is?" he asked.

Sabrina groaned internally. She'd almost forgotten about what Puck had told her that morning, but now she saw Mustardseed and Renee, and his voice came back to her head, repeating _I love you. I love you. I love you_, in time with the horse's footsteps. She shoved it aside and told Mustardseed, "I wanted to talk about what we're doing next. I can come back later, though, if you..." She trailed off, not sure how to finish.

"No, it's fine," Mustardseed said, looking at Renee for confirmation.

Renee nodded, and Mustardseed and Sabrina steered their horses to the side of the trail and stopped them, letting the others pass. Mustardseed looked at Renee the whole time, though, and Sabrina had to snap her fingers in his face to get his attention. She was lucky magical horses were calmer than real ones, even the real ones she'd ridden for her third birthday, the old tired dust-brown trail ponies her parents took her to ride.

"Sorry," Mustardseed said, looking at her finally.

"Do I actually have your attention now?" Sabrina asked, a bit testily.

"Yes, right, what we're doing now, sorry," Mustardseed said.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and asked, "So... any ideas?"

Mustardseed shook his head and said, "None whatsoever. At least, none that make sense. I suppose we could go storm the Scarlet Hand's fortress, but that seems like a bad idea."

"Yeah," Sabrina said tightly. "It does. And I don't have any better ideas. So I guess you can go back to your girlfriend after all."

Mustardseed smiled and said, "I still can't get used to calling her that. Decades of thinking she didn't care about me at all, and now..."

"Now she likes you back?" Sabrina suggested, once she figured out he wasn't going to finish.

"Now she loves me." Mustardseed said with the goofiest smile she'd ever seen him wear. "She told me so."

"And... you love her." Sabrina said. It wasn't a question. She was happy for them, really. But still. Now? Now, when she ought to be focusing on their next move, not trying to figure out her feelings? She detested feelings. They always got in the way.

"I do." Mustardseed's grin got, if possible, even bigger and goofier.

She hated herself for asking, but she couldn't help it, so she said, "How did you know? That it was love, I mean."

If Mustardseed had been more himself, he'd have given her a look, but in the state he was in, he just said, "I knew because I was willing to put her above everyone else, no matter what. I'm... I'm not normally like that. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and all. But... for Renee, I would do anything."

Sabrina made a mental note to make sure that Mustardseed would be kept away from Renee if she was kidnapped, but nodded and said, "Wow. That's... big."

"I suppose," he told her, spurring his horse forward as he headed back to his girlfriend- his love.

Sabrina was alone for only a few seconds, and then Bella was there.

"Why were you talking with Mustardseed about love?" Bella asked.

Sabrina sighed, then explained, "Puck... Puck said he loves me," she whispered.

"Oh," Bella said. "So... what did you say back?"

"Nothing," Sabrina said, disgusted. "We got interrupted right after he said it, and even if we hadn't, I don't know... I don't... What would I say?"

"Um, normally you say 'I love you too', or something like that," Bella said. "Unless..." she peered at her friend.

"I don't know," Sabrina said in a quiet wail. "I mean, how do I know it's love? What's the difference between love and like?"

Bella shrugged and said, "I don't know. Maybe it's different for everyone. For me it's knowing that... no matter how much I want anyone else, I'll always want him more. And it's deciding that he's worth my everything, and that if I can't give it to him, he deserves his freedom to have someone else's everything."

Sabrina snorted and said, "You might be right about it being different for everyone. So far I've gotten a different answer from everyone I've asked."

"And why not?" Bella asked. "I mean, we're all different. So why should love be the same thing? That's like expecting a one-size-fits-all t-shirt to actually look right on everybody."

Sabrina snickered, then sobered up and asked, "So how do I know what my love looks like?"

Bella shrugged and said, "I think that's something you can only figure out for yourself."

Sabrina sighed and complained, "Why aren't there ever any easy answers?"

"That's being a grown-up, sweetie." Bella smiled at her.

"Then I want to go back to being a kid, after all," Sabrina muttered.

"Bit late for that," Bella said. "Should've taken Puck up on it when he offered."

"I was already too far gone." Sabrina told her. "I'd rather be all adult than partly grown up and partly a kid. It feels like trying to stand on two separate trampolines that both have people bouncing on them."

"That, my friend, is quite an analogy." Bella said, kicking her horse forward. "Good luck figuring things out!"

Sabrina sighed and sank back in the saddle. She had some things to mull over.

Her thinking time was doomed to die before it really began, though. She was just starting to sort things out when a shout came back along the line and someone called, "Sabrina!"

"What?" Sabrina groaned, looking up at Tiger Lily with a face. "Is this really that important?"

"I think so." Tiger Lily said. "There's a boy here. He's one of the Scarlet Hand."

* * *

Tom had watched his fellow Hand members for a while, while they bungled around trying to find Cricket. It was lucky for his friend that nobody else knew he could teleport to where someone was without knowing where that was, otherwise Cricket would be back already. But now they were getting close. It had been a long trail, but they'd finally found a genuine trace of Cricket.

This could end very badly.

Not that he really cared, of course. It was just a whim that he was heading to Cricket to warn him. It wasn't like he had a stake in things. And even if he did, he ought to be playing for the other team. It wasn't like Cricket's future mattered to him, really.

Still, here he was, jumping onto Cricket's head from his bedroom, even if he didn't care. Maybe he was doing it because he wanted to show the Hand that they didn't own him, even if they'd never know what he'd done.

And then- "Tom, what are you doing here?" Cricket, pulling Tom off his head and giving him a look that was half annoyed and half confused.

"I'm here to warn you," Tom said, "The Hand's coming to get you." Then he looked around. "Cricket, what are you doing with this many people? It's a stupid idea, it'll get you caught way more easily. I mean, this is almost an army! Or it would be, if it wasn't a bunch of kids."

"Excuse you, we kids are the ones who've been doing most of the winning in this war!" A voice snapped.

"Cricket, who's this?" Another voice asked, and Tom began to wish he was full sized. Not that he cared what any of them thought of him, of course. They were all idiots. But still.

"This is my friend, Tom." Cricket explained to the others.

"Isn't he in the Scarlet Hand?" another voice. Tom wished he could see clearly.

"Scarlet Hand? It's a trap! A spy!" someone else called.

"Go get Sabrina! And Mustardseed!"

The voices blurred a bit, and Tom was very confused for several minutes, even after Cricket set him down on the ground, and he jumped back up to full size. It's very difficult to feel yourself when you're surrounded by people giving you suspicious looks on horseback, and you don't know any of them, or even where you are.

The only face he really focused on was the girl, Sabrina. She rode up last and gave him a cool appraising look, the black scar around her left eye surrounded by a gray film over eyes that were a blue like lightning, and just as dangerous, her long blonde hair whipping around her face in a brief breeze, clear pale skin with a sunburn-red nose in the center of it all making her beautiful.

And just like that, Tom, the boy who disdained anything as weak as love, was hooked.


	120. Confession

**AN~ This took longer than I thought it would, sorry guys, action is the hardest thing for me to write 'cause I actually have to think, and I also started class, which eats up a lot of my time.  
**

**Review Replies:**

**_Choco-Bilby: _No, I did not. I don't even have a WattPad account.**

**_Puckabrinaluver: _:)**

**_Puckabrinaluva: _Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _I'm just all over that love stuff right now! I will see about deleted scenes for TLWR, but I don't think there are any, really. Most of them go straight in. There were a few that I got rid of because they were stupid, but that's it. A joist is a piece of wood that goes in a wall or a ceiling for support. Sabrina's scar is from the Janus thing. Daphne has the inverse of it on her face.**

**_Paige: _I just posted an AN saying why I was gone. Also there were two weeks with no internet, but that's not really important. Sabrina is in love, but she doesn't know it yet, so she has to figure it out.**

**_Virgo: _I'm glad. :)**

**_Aliea:_ The reason Daphne started with fewer superpowers is that she wasn't going to lose them. Sabrina's down to... five, I think, and dropping. She still has two left to lose. It's 'cause they're different kinds of Everafters. Like frogs turn into tadpoles on the way to growing up, but newts don't (I don't think) have a middle phase. That IS an interesting idea, but it doesn't really fit with the story. Also, if she aged them up, and then they went back to normal age, wouldn't they lose everything they'd learned while they were 'older'? Thanks, though!**

**_karatequeen78: _Yeah, I don't ship Tom/Sabrina, but that doesn't mean TOM doesn't ship them. I'm adding drama, like I thought everyone wanted... But it'll mostly be funny drama. Do you want Sabrina to tell Puck she loves him when she's not sure? That's like... That's promising something she's not sure she can keep. And Sabrina places great importance in keeping promises. Wait... I abandoned you?**

**_Catnissmeows27: _I'm planning on sooner updates, promise. And yeah, I couldn't resist Tom having a thing for Sabrina. I mean, he's sarcasm embodied, and she's sarcastic all over the place, and he was JUST talking about how people in love are stupid...**

* * *

"Who are you?" Sabrina asked, glaring down at the boy standing on the ground in front of her.

"He's Tom Thumb," Peaseblossom answered, because the boy kept staring at Sabrina and didn't say anything.

"Isn't he part of the Scarlet Hand?" Daphne asked.

"I think that might be kind of complicated," Puck said, "he helped me out while we were there, kind of. Well, not helped. But he knew I was there and he let me go.

"He's a friend of mine," Cricket told everyone. "He said he came to warn me about-"

Tom suddenly snapped out of whatever daze he'd been in and said, "The Hand is coming. They're looking for Cricket. If they find you you'll be screwed."

Sabrina snorted and said, "We'll see about that. Everybody! Weapons _out_!" She pulled her own sword out as she shouted and ran her thumb across the hilt, turning it from a small wooden board to a rapier, her favorite blade. "How soon will they be here, you think?" Sabrina asked Tom.

"Not for a few hours," Tom answered. Why did he keep _staring_ at her? "They've got someone who can track him with them, though. You're being idiotic. You should hide before they kill you all."

Sabrina smirked at him and said, "You obviously haven't seen us in action before. Now either be helpful or go away. I've got more important things to do than try to convince you we're capable."

Tom blinked out of existence, and Sabrina nodded, satisfied, then turned to everyone and said, "Eight of you, spread out and find somewhere we'll have a tactical advantage. A hill, a bunch of trees, an island, anything. Be back here in an hour. No more."

They'd practiced this, and the eight people assigned to be scouts ran off in all the compass directions while the others started readying themselves magically. One of the scouts, a pug-nosed little redhead, came back faster than the others and told them that there was an island that would fit them all about thirty feet away, in the approximate center of the river. Mustardseed sent about half of their party on to start setting up the line of defense, including Daphne. The others stayed to wait for the rest of the scouts. The redhead led everyone to the island and came back again before all the scouts were returned, and then they were all off.

When they arrived at the island, Sabrina was pleased to see that everything was progressing smoothly, and that Puck had managed to set up about twenty traps between the island and any mainland, and Daphne had grown another tree-globe at the center of the island, in case all else failed. There wasn't really anything for her to do. All that training had paid off.

And then there was nothing to do but wait.

Sabrina found herself sitting next to Wendy Darling, who had come awake that morning and been spending a lot of her time with Peter, talking and giving each other looks that nobody else could read.

"Hi," Wendy said, giving Sabrina a small smile.

"Hi," Sabrina returned. It was hard to get used to seeing Wendy in a battle place, she was used to seeing her in her house, playing mother to all the lost boys and handing out plates of sliced fruit. That didn't mesh with this woman in someone else's jeans under a filthy party dress, a scar down the back of her hand, her hair up in a messy ponytail and a scimitar in her undamaged hand.

"Peter tells me you're in charge anymore," Wendy continued. "I'm sure most people must have complained about that."

Sabrina shrugged. "Not really. It's me and Mustardseed, and we all voted for the leaders." Changing the subject, she asked, "What were you and Peter talking about, that whole time? It was a bit long for just catching up on what you've missed."

"Yes, it was," Wendy said with a small smile.

Sabrina recognized that smile. She'd seen it on Bella's face, and Mustardseed's, and her own, sometimes. "Dude!" she hissed, "You're like, a _thing_, aren't you!" She held back a shudder as her brain went through all the relationships she'd heard of with people that old together with people that young. Even if Peter was technically older than Wendy was.

Wendy smiled a little again and said, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"So, is Peter going to grow up, now?" Sabrina asked. She hated herself for asking questions like a little gossip girl, but she decided this was worth it.

Wendy shook her head. "We talked about it," she said, "but I told him he didn't have to, and he didn't say he wanted to. So we'll just stay like this. Not much will probably change."

"But.. why?" Sabrina asked. "You're not going to be able to, you know, _do_ anything, and you're a grown-up and he's not! People are going to give you some weird looks. More than just that, probably."

Wendy smiled sadly and said, "Because he wouldn't be happy any other way. And I love him enough not to try to change who he is just to make my life a little better. And he loves me enough to stay with me even though I'm an adult. Besides," she smiled, "I've done those sorts of things, and I can live without a husband doing them to me again. They're not as amazing as everyone says."

Sabrina's eyes widened, not just because Wendy had told her that releasing any sexual frustrations she might or might not have wouldn't be as amazing as she hoped, but also because she'd just told her another definition of love, and one that might actually help her. Loving someone enough not to change them. Did she care enough about Puck to let him be the annoying jerk he was and enjoy it? Or at least let him do it so he'd be happy?

She honestly thought she might. He pranked her less anymore, anyway. And she was confident enough in herself that she didn't need to look perfect all the time, so she hated it less when he made her look like an idiot. So... maybe she did love him. Maybe. She'd still have to think about it some more.

Besides, if everyone else had their own definition of love, why shouldn't she have her own, too? Since apparently it wasn't sparks flying when you kissed and not being able to think about anyone else ever (well, of course not. How would married people survive?), she'd have to figure out what her own love was. And if it was the forever kind.

She'd thought she'd know when it was love, and not just like.

Maybe she was wrong.

After all, nothing else in life had turned out quite like she'd expected it. Why should this be any different? She wasn't a romantic, not like Daphne. She was a realist. And, thinking like a realist...

Puck was real. And he loved her. And she cared about him. Enough that she was willing to put up with everything he did. And he put up with her. He'd rescued her, she'd tried to rescue him. He'd always been there for her when she really needed him. He was funny, and cute, and stupid in a really smart way. And she could see them growing old together, or at least middle-aged together. And she... wanted it.

So... was that love?

If it wasn't, it was the closest she would ever get to it.

Wendy had wandered off while she was thinking, and Sabrina came out of her reverie to find herself in an empty space on the island, with her leg itching terribly (that got her absently thinking about the ways poison ivy could be used in a fight as a tactical weapon), with people off doing their own waiting things elsewhere. She began searching for Puck.

He, too, was off by himself, looking warily off in the opposite direction of almost everyone else, seeming very alert.

"Expecting an attack from the rear?" Sabrina asked him, once she'd reached his side.

He jumped a little, then turned to her and said, "Yeah. I mean, it would make sense, wouldn't it? Surround us?"

"Probably," Sabrina agreed, sitting next to him. "You're one of the only people who looks like you remember we're waiting for an attack."

"Yeah, well, we only need a few sentries," Puck shrugged. "I'd have sent out my pixies, but with Peter and co over there, things might have gotten testy."

"How come?"

Puck shrugged again. "Tink's a free pixie, a sprite, right? And some of the sprites think pixies are slaves. They're not, really. If they wanted to go, I'd let them. But sprites get these ideas, and Peter's the one that put a lot of them in their heads. So it's easier if I don't have to deal with someone shouting 'free the pixies!' all the time."

"I can see how that might get annoying," Sabrina agreed. "And you can only explode at him so many times.

"Exactly," Puck said, slipping his fingers between hers. They said nothing for a moment, staring out across the river, before he added, "I was starting to think you were avoiding me."

"I was, kind of," Sabrina said, running her thumb over his fingers.

"Why?"

"I dunno," Sabrina shrugged, concentrating on his hand as she moved her finger steadily back and forth across his knuckles. "Didn't know what to say, I guess."

"Oh," Puck said quietly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to, you know, pressure you or anything. I should've kept my mouth shut. I just got caught up in the moment. Pretend I didn't say anything."

"Can't do that," Sabrina said.

"Why not?" Puck asked.

Now she looked up at him, and smiled. "Because then I wouldn't get to tell you that I love you back."

Puck's eyes were immediately the size of Granny Relda's jumbo chocolate chip cookies, but his smile grew much more slowly, although by the time it was finished, it was surprising there was room for anything other than his smile and those eyes on his face. "For real?" he asked. "You're not just saying it to make me happy?"

Sabrina shook her head and said, "I had to think about it for a bit, but I love you, Puck. For real."

"Good," Puck said, and his grin changed. "Then you won't mind if I do this!" His free hand reached up suddenly and dumped a handful of sand in her hair.

"Puck!" Sabrina shrieked, pulling away from him, "What the heck was that for?"

The others on the island turned to her in time to hear him say, "Because it was funny, duh!"

"I'm gonna get you for that!" Sabrina said, her voice still shrill as she tried to get the sand out of her hair without getting any in her eyes.

Puck was already in the air, flying away from her and laughing, as she prepared to take off, wishing for his far more maneuverable wings, when Daphne shouted, "Guys! This isn't really the time!"

They turned to look at her, and she pointed to the shore, where Nottingham was suddenly standing.

Sabrina landed and muttered, "Crap."

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Puck agreed, floating down next to her.

"Well, this is surprising," Nottingham called across the water, "Here I was expecting to find Cricket and his young bride, and instead I'm met with some of the most wanted members of the resistance."

"That's the Blue Foot, thank you," Daphne snapped.

"Whatever," Nottingham waved that away.

Behind him appeared several other people. Sabrina noted with interest that Heart wasn't there.

"I believe we ought to attack, gentlemen," Nottingham told the people behind him. "What do you say?"

"I'm no gentleman, Nottingham," a woman Sabrina hadn't seen before said, "I'd thank you to remember that we're not in the fourteen hundreds anymore. But other than that, yes, an attack is in order."

Nottingham rolled his eyes and said, "Are there any other complaints?"

Nobody said anything, so Nottingham grinned and said, "Charge!"

They started forward, and Daphne's vines immediately snapped into action, wrapping around most of the front of the line, dragging them down into the water. For some of the ones that made it past the vines, Puck's traps worked as a stop, sucking them down into slime or burying them in bees, or something else like that.

"Distance weapons," Mustardseed said calmly, and everyone with a bow, gun, peashooter, set of darts, or sling hurried forward.

"Get in the trees," he told them, still calm, "Once you're situated where you won't fall, fire at will."

"I want half of everyone to come with me!" Sabrina shouted, looking at the surprisingly small number of people left with Nottingham, only about fifty or so.

About half of the people left followed her to the far side of the island, and, sure enough, there were Heart and another hundred Scarlet Handers just showing up in the distance.

"Prepare for combat," Sabrina said, trying hard to keep her voice as calm as Mustardseed's but still be audible over the river.

She took her own orders, lifting her sword and beating her wings, taking off into the sky so she could see the battle more clearly, like Mustardseed was doing on the opposite side of the island. They nodded at each other, then turned their attention to their own sides of the rapidly complicating melee.

Bella was suddenly climbing down from the tree below Sabrina, pulling out her sword, and Sabrina snapped at her, "What are you doing?"

"Getting down," Bella said, "They need backup."

"Not from you they don't," Sabrina said, "You're staying right there until someone gets hurt."

Bella glared at her and said, "But Wendell-"

"Can take perfectly good care of himself!" Sabrina interrupted. "He's got his harmonica. He's fine. And we have three people who know anything useful about medicine here. Three. And you're the best. I can't afford to lose you, Bella. If you go down, nobody's getting back up. So stay in the freaking tree until there's an injury down there!"

Bella gave Sabrina the fiercest glare she'd ever seen out of her best friend and said, "Fine. But if anything happens to him-"

"Let the fighters have his back," Sabrina said, and turned back to the fight. There was a knot of monsters clustered around someone short, so she swooped in to lend a hand, tapping three other people who were looking for something to do as she went. And then she was fighting again, slash with the sword and slice and parry and whoops- there went two inches of her hair, but the thing had missed her head, which was the important thing, and stab and move on to the next monster until the short one, the redheaded girl who'd been scouting earlier, was free, and injured, and Sabrina flew her up to Bella before heading back to her hover to watch for issues.

Her ears were ringing with the leftover noise of steel on steel on claws and scales, and she smelled the blood of whatever mutant thing she'd killed, and if she'd spared time to look down at herself and away from the battle, she knew she'd see things she didn't want to think about on her clothes, but she was busy watching. They seemed to have things under control, but-

A high-pitched inhuman shriek came to her, and her head whipped around. "The horses!"

She flew as fast as she could to the source of the shriek, and sure enough, another horde of monsters had come from the south of the island, dripping wet and pulling starfish from their heads- so the Hand had the mermaids. She hadn't known about that. They couldn't have the horses, though. She needed them. And all their supplies. "Daphne," she called quietly, lifting the hilt of her sword to her mouth.

"What?" Daphne's voice responded.

"We have a situation over on the south end of the island," Sabrina responded. "I need you here. Horses. Get anyone else who can talk to animals if you want, but come fast. Actually, bring Wendell."

Sabrina rubbed her sword hilt, landed in between the horses and the coming monsters, and raised her sword in front of her. She'd have to hold them alone until help arrived.


	121. Then and Back Again

**AN~ It's very hard to type with cold fingers. That is the cause of any misprints here. Because I'm frigid.  
**

QotD:Who killed Cock Robin? Why? None of the original song or anything if you know them. I want originality. You're the P.I. How do you solve the case? Whodunit? The world needs to know!

**Previous QotD winner: N/A because of the nature of the previous QotD.  
**

**Review Replies:**

**_guest:_ **Chapter 124:** You happen to be incorrect. I updated last Thursday. That's a week exactly as of your review. Just saying. **Chapter 1:** I'm glad you like it! :D**

**_catnissmeows27:_ Your username seems like one that should belong to someone with an account. Tom skedaddled because he's technically a member of the Scarlet Hand. He can teleport. I'm not sure what you understand about me and battle scenes, but I'm glad you do. The QotD was forgotten in a rush to upload.**

**_Choco-Bilby: _Thank you for telling me this. I looked, and you're definitely right. This displeases me, because (s)he's claiming I gave permission, and I don't remember telling anyone they could take my work and put it someplace else. I COULD have, I guess, but I think I'd remember. And credit needs to be given.**

**_PenguinLoverGurl: _Tom was never going to win Sabrina. Even before she said she loved Puck. He had no chance. I actually just thought that Puck wouldn't be able to stay that serious for that long. And Puck's pranks are the reason Sabrina has trouble liking him. And Sabrina is bad-donkey. :)**

* * *

Sabrina was still hacking and slashing the endless number of monsters when Daphne showed up, her own sword in hand, and, beginning to chop up more monsters, asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Take the horses someplace," Sabrina said, panting as she stabbed something gray and scaly. "Calm them down and get them to safety."

"Can do," Daphne said, backing up, "And Wendell was in the middle of something, so he can't help."

"That's fine," Sabrina grunted, pulling her sword free, "You can do it."

Sabrina was too busy fighting to notice the look on Daphne's face, but it was one so full of pride that the younger Grimm sister felt she would burst, because Sabrina trusted her to do this on her own!

Daphne spoke to all the horse-type creatures in their language, calming them- difficult to do with monsters from who knows where coming out of the woodwork, and then led them to her safe zone, the thick bubble of trees. When she tried to leave, she had to calm them again, because they didn't think they would be safe without her, in this place that was too much like a cave to be home for creatures of the plains.

She finally calmed them down enough to get back to the fighting, to find that they were being overrun, and that the fight had moved almost to her safe zone. Bella found here there and enlisted her help moving the wounded into the trees with the horses, and she suddenly found herself not doing any fighting at all, and being a nursemaid instead.

More and more people showed up in the clearing in the trees, and things started to get a little crowded. Daphne was getting worried. This wasn't going too well. What had happened? They'd been winning!

Mustardseed showed up through the winding gap in the trees and Daphne left the wounded kid she'd been treating to run to him, jumping over several other hurt kids, and asked, "What's going on? Why are we retreating?"

"There are just too many of them," Mustardseed told her, wiping his brow. "No matter how many we kill, they just keep coming. So I'm bringing people in here one at a time, so the Hand doesn't notice. Sabrina's out there with the people who stay, helping it look like we're not disappearing."

"And what do we do when we're all in here?" Daphne asked.

Mustardseed shrugged and said, "You close off the entrance and we try to figure out something to do.

"All right," Daphne agreed, heading back to her bandages and trying not to tell him that that didn't sound like a very good plan.

She lost herself in the bandaging for a while, until Sabrina was suddenly next to her, pressing down against the bandage on her fourth kid since talking to Mustardseed, and Mustardseed himself was there, too, talking with Sabrina.

"That everyone?" he asked.

Sabrina nodded, not lifting her pressure on the wound, and said, "I did a flyby, and nobody's left. The Hand is really confused, but I have a feeling they're going to figure it out soon.

"So," Mustardseed asked, "What do we do?"

Sabrina gave him an incredulous look and said, "We're supposed to be co-leaders, here! You're being remarkably unhelpful today."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I just have no idea what to do here!" Mustardseed protested.

"Sh!" Sabrina hissed, glaring at him. "Don't let anyone else know that! Do you want to terrify them?"

"Sorry," Mustardseed said quietly.

"Go get Mr. Canis," Sabrina said, "He might have an idea."

Mustardseed ran off, and Daphne grinned at Sabrina. She had no idea why she was grinning. Nothing was going right.

"Don't suppose you have any ideas?" Sabrina asked glumly.

Daphne stared at her. "You never ask me for ideas."

"I do sometimes!" Sabrina protested. "Just... not very often."

"Yeah, well, it's pretty rare," Daphne said with a shrug.

Sabrina gave her a shrug back and said, "Well, I guess I'm feeling the pressure. It's weird, having everyone look at me for an answer."

"I thought you wanted that," Daphne not-quite-asked, not-quite-stated.

"I wanted them to listen to me, to pay attention to my ideas," Sabrina said, "But I don't think I wanted them all to count on me. I do better when the only one counting on me _is_ me."

"Too late now," Daphne said.

"Thanks for the pep talk," Sabrina said, removing her hands from the boy as Daphne tied off the bandage. "Knew I could count on you."

"Of course," Daphne said, then placed a hand on her sister's arm and said, "You're a good leader, Sabrina. You can do this."

Sabrina gave her half of a smile, without humor. "I just wish I knew how."

"You'll think of something," Daphne said confidently.

"Sure," Sabrina said, "Hey, can you go close off that path you left open? I don't want the Scarlet Hand to find it."

Daphne nodded and ran off to her her winding space in the trees to coax them to grow a little bit more, for her. It wasn't that hard to convince plants to grow, but they didn't like crowding each other the way she was asking them to. Crowding meant starvation for plants.

She was heading back for Sabrina when she felt the first axe hit the outer trees. She screamed.

A series of faces appeared around her, all asking "What's wrong?"

"They're cutting down the trees," she whimpered, wrapping her arms around her waist as another axe hit a second tree.

"Can you stop them?" Mustardseed was asking, but Daphne couldn't focus on his face.

"I can try," she said wearily, "But I'll only be able to slow them down."

"Do that, then, Daphne," Sabrina's voice this time, "Don't worry about anything else."

Daphne curled up in a ball, concentrating on the trees, but voices still broke through the pain to her ears.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" someone asked.

"No, of course not."

"We might get captured, though. I hear the Scarlet Hand has this really creepy dungeon they store people in, ask Puck."

"We'll be fine. They'll think of something."

"What if they don't?"

"They will. They always do."

A new voice, and a different conversation: "How will we get out of this?"

"I've got a last-ditch plan, but it's-"

"We need last-ditch. You'll have to do it."

She was distracted from this conversation by a pair of arms wrapping around her. It didn't help with the pain, but somehow, she felt a little better.

"It hurts," she whimpered.

"I know," the person who was hugging her said, and she could feel their voice rumble around her through the agony of trees losing their lives for her.

The second conversation wormed its way back into her brain with a shout of "Do it now, Sabrina!"

"All right!" Sabrina screeched, and suddenly Daphne didn't hurt anymore.

She looked around and found that Art was the one holding her, and that they were all in one of Sabrina's iridescent bubbles in a wasteland of stumps, still on the island, possibly. An island, at least.

"Where are we?" someone asked.

"A better question would be _when_ are we," Mustardseed answered, brushing himself off.

The bubble disappeared, and Sabrina, leaning on Puck, explained to everyone, "I brought us to the future by about ten years. We should be safe-ish for now, but I don't really know, and I can't take us back until I've rested."

"Why didn't you just take us like, an hour or a couple days into the future?" Kaytee asked.

"I was going to," Sabrina said, giving Mustardseed a pointed glare, "But _someone_ rushed me, and I panicked. It's not really an exact science."

"It's okay," Puck said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and then taking it off very fast, "We're all here and everything, and you can fix it."

"But how did you get us all here?" Wendell asked. "I thought you had to be touching someone to bring them with you."

"That's what the friggin' bubble was for, all right?" Sabrina snapped. "Isn't it enough that we're safe? Can you people just leave me alone?"

Several people backed up, eyes widening. Sabrina hadn't exploded in public for a long time.

"Perhaps we should see about setting up camp," Mustardseed suggested tactfully. "It's probably best to stay here for now, and-"

He was interrupted by a voice proclaiming, "See? I told you I felt something over here!"

"All right, all right, you were right," a very familiar yet unfamiliar voice said, and Daphne experienced the strangest sense of deja vu. She'd heard those voices before.

"Always trust the girl with the magic eight ball," the first voice said.

Daphne turned, already knowing who she'd see, and grinned a little. This future self of hers was much happier looking than the other one, tossing a small vibrating black object up and down in her left hand as she floated on the magic carpet, which looked cleaner than Daphne had ever seen it. Next to her sat Sabrina, ten years older and ten years prettier, though still kind of short and narrow.

"Hi, future me!" she called to herself.

"Hey, little me," the older Daphne grinned at her. "What are you doing now?"

"We're hiding from the Scarlet Hand," Daphne said. "Sabrina overshot."

"I can't believe I can still do that," the older Sabrina said, sounding surprised. "I mean, that me must be- what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

"Yeah, about," Sabrina agreed with her older self. "I lose it soon, then?"

"I think we should shut up now and just take them somplace they won't find out too much," the older Daphne suggested to her sister. "I like the way things turn out, and if they know, they might mess it up."

"Good point," the older Sabrina said. "Guys, we'll take you home, all right? And you can rest up there before you're ready to go back to when you belong."

"That sounds marvelous," Mustardseed said wearily. "Could you perhaps look at our wounded while you're at it?"

"We'll have Bella take a look at them," the older Sabrina said. "Just give us a minute or two to be back with a ride."

They flew off, and Puck said, "That was weird."

"I have a feeling the next couple days are going to be very confusing," Bella said. She hadn't stopped bandaging and splinting and putting salves on kids since she'd started, and she looked very tired. "But oddly enough, I don't really give a crap."

"I couldn't care less if they left us here," Sabrina said wearily, "I just want to sleep."

"Sleep sounds great to me," Daphne agreed.

"So say we all," Cricket muttered.

The older Sabrina and Daphne appeared a few minutes later in the chicken house, and everyone piled inside it, heading for safety. Daphne fell asleep sometime before they arrived at the house.

* * *

Sabrina woke the next morning in a bed she didn't remember getting into, and rolled out of it to look out the window.

She was in Puck's room; she could see the roller coaster in the distance. She must be in one of the houses that had been built there. Did that mean people still lived in them?

"Hello?" she called, padding out into the next room. It was empty. Actually, most of the house was, other than the bedrooms. She didn't think people still lived here after all. They must have just left the houses up.

Which begged the question, Where had they moved to?

She went outside, ready to wander in search of people, but she was met by herself, who led her to a bench nearby.

"Don't-" her older self started, "Don't leave, all right?"

"Huh?" Sabrina asked, still a little hung up on the bench. Since when were there benches in Puck's room?

"Stay in here," her older self said, gesturing to the space around them. "We think we've got it figured out so that you guys won't find out anything vital about the future, but if you go outside, or even into the rest of the house, you might mess it up. So you can hang out here for a day or two, and then we'll take you to someplace out of the way, and you can take yourselves back to when you belong."

"All right," Sabrina agreed. It made sense to her, and besides, she was more intent on getting a good look at her older self's left hand than the rest of the world, and that left hand was right in front of her and had a beautiful gold ring on it. Well, it wasn't actually a particularly beautiful ring. But it was a gold ring. On the left ring finger. And that, to Sabrina, made it one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

Her older self noticed her expression, then looked at her own hand and smiled. "Yeah."

"If I asked for any details, you'd say stuff it, wouldn't you?" Sabrina asked.

Her older self nodded. "Just have a rest today, okay? You've got to be beat. I'm surprised you're up this early."

"Yeah, me too," Sabrina said. "You going to tell everyone else to hang out here?"

"I actually just came to bring you guys some breakfast," Sabrina's older self said, pointing off to another cabin. "If you want me to, though, I can tell them."

Sabrina shook her head. "It's fine," she told her. "I'll tell everyone, don't worry about it."

"Thanks," her older self said. "I brought waffles, if you're hungry."

"Thanks," Sabrina said gratefully. "I think I'll go take advantage of that.

"Figured you would," her older self said, grinning. "I hope you don't mind if I don't stick around, it's a bit too weird hanging around with my younger self."

"Don't mind a bit," Sabrina said, waving her off, already heading for the promise of waffles. She was starved.

She was halfway through her third enormous homemade waffle before other people joined her. She gave them all the message, and they agreed, and ate their own food. She had two more waffles, and then went back to sleep. Her nap lasted until lunchtime, when the smell of food woke her, and she headed for it, feeling like Daphne.

"So you've rejoined the living," Jonas teased her as she stumbled out, rubbing bleary eyes and smacking her lips at the odd taste of too much sleep without enough brushing of teeth.

Sabrina nodded, grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich, and sat down almost on top of Puck, because all the chairs were full. She figured nobody would think too much of that as long as she complained later, or he did, because they'd shared chairs before.

"You look different than I remember," a new voice said, and Sabrina really looked around for the first time since she'd woken.

The woman who'd spoken bore a resemblance to Bella, but her hair was longer, and tied back from her face in an elaborate braid, and she didn't wear any makeup. She was holding hands with a man who was soft-looking, though not fat, with blue eyes that made Sabrina understand the definition of 'limpid'. They were two of several adults that peppered the crowded eating area (they'd set up tables outside, instead of trying to force everyone into one house, or dividing them up.

"How's that?" she asked, taking a large bite of her sandwich as soon as she had.

"You're shorter," the woman who Sabrina guessed was an older Bella said, "And you're less confident. More worn."

Sabrina shrugged and said, "I guess it's 'cause you're more confident now. And I'm a kid."

"Probably," the older Bella said, laughing a bit, "I remember thinking my best friend was superhuman through most of the war. It's nice to know I was wrong."

"That's kind of worrying," Sabrina mumbled around more sandwich, "'Cause I let more of my human-ness out around you than almost anybody. Weren't you guys supposed to stay away?"

The grown-up Bella shrugged and said, "I had to be here to help with the people who were hurt. And then somebody started complaining about how that wasn't fair, and then another person picked it up, and eventually they had to give in."

"Weird," Sabrina said. "I'd think it'd be kind of creepy to meet my younger self. And annoying."

"Yeah, well, everyone's different," the grown-up who must have been Wendell put in. "I don't think my younger self is too annoying."

"Yeah, well, you weren't there when you were going through your 'Private Investigator' phase," Puck muttered. Sabrina elbowed him, and he added, "Watch it, or you're sitting on the floor."

"That's another thing," the older Wendell added, "I don't remember you two being a couple until you were sixteen or so."

Sabrina and Puck both blushed, and Sabrina choked on a mouthful of sandwich while Puck muttered, "Um... well..."

The older Bella saved them by saying, "It's complicated, sweetie."

Sabrina and Puck nodded, relieved, and Sabrina went back to eating her sandwich in peace, letting the others carry the conversation. She was feeling much less tired now, and she was almost sure she could take them back, if everyone was ready to leave themselves alone. She didn't want to try to make them do that, though. She had a feeling it wouldn't go over too well.

She was saved by the older Daphne calling over the crowd, "All right, everyone, this has been a very pleasant party, but it's time to get back to what we're supposed to be doing! These kids have got to go home!"

There was a collection of groans, but everyone loaded themselves back up into the expanded chicken-house, and Sabrina grabbed another two sandwiches in preparation for the journey home.

They reached a secluded area of forest behind the Grimm house without anyone really seeing the inside, or even the outside, of the house, and then Sabrina took them back to when they belonged. She thought, approvingly, that her grown-up self was really very efficient at getting things done fast.


	122. Up To Their Old Tricks

**AN~ 190  
**

QotD: There's an app for that. At least, there should be. Design a cell phone/tablet app that doesn't exist yet, but that we NEED.

**Previous QotD winner: Anger. Issues, because she did RESEARCH.  
**

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**_Guest: _**Ch 2:** When you get here, hi! It gets better as you go on, trust me.** Ch. 27:** You're not even a quarter of the way through the story. Why are you already asking me to write more? That doesn't make sense. **Ch 28:** Yes. Yes she is. **Ch. 40: **Thanks. **Ch. 1 again: **WHEN I FINISH THE CHAPTER. That's always when they are. I try to put one out a week, but I can't always do that.**

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* * *

They were back in their own time again, with nothing to show for it other than a lack of injuries, and Sabrina was pretty sure that the Hand would come back for them again, now that they had that way of tracking them.

"Well, we're no better off than we were before," Mustardseed moped, dropping to the ground next to her. "Think we should have a council of war?"

"Yeah, definitely," Sabrina said, nodding vigorously, then holding her head as an ache formed. She still wasn't recovered from her most recent time-manipulation-whatever. "You want to get everyone together, or should I?"

"I'll do it," Mustardseed said, "You just keep everyone away from here for now, all right?"

"I'm not _that_ tired," Sabrina grumbled, but she didn't argue further, because maybe she _was_ that tired.

She sat down on a large rock in the woods nearby which was mostly flat, big enough to seat ten or so people in a loose circle, and about five feet off the ground. Their temporary camp had been using it as a kitchen, but it was ten in the morning, now, and nobody was eating anything. The fire had died down to embers in the center of the rock. She amused herself for a bit by finding pictures in the pattern of shadows and light on the rock, and in the lichen that grew on its sides. She could almost imagine that they weren't in the middle of a war, looking at that.

Mustardseed came back fifteen minutes later with Mr. Canis, Peaseblossom, Daphne, Puck, Annie, Jane, and a few others that he'd picked out (Sabrina had let him choose the people who'd be best for the 'council'; for making decisions when he and Sabrina needed help). They all arranged themselves in a vague circle around the fire pit where Sabrina had found herself in charge of cooking again. It was amazing how many of these several-hundred-year-old people didn't know how to cook.

"So," she said, "I call this meeting to order and all that formal stuff. Now I'll be frank with you people: _We're stuck._ Unless you have some great idea, the same thing is going to happen again, until we can get rid of however they're tracking us."

"They have the advantage," Mustardseed put in, "And what we need is a way to get the upper hand back."

"Any ideas?" Sabrina asked. "'Cause I'm stumped."

There was a general murmur around the table, and Puck suggested, "We could kick Cricket out, since it's him they're tracking."

Sabrina gave him a look.

"Fine," Puck muttered, glaring at the ground.

"Do we have any legitimate suggestions?" Mustardseed asked, looking around. "Any suggestions that don't involve sacrificing anyone we're supposed to be protecting?"

"Can Sabrina put up a barrier that will keep them from getting to us?" Jane suggested. "Then one or two of us can go out and find out what they've got that's letting them find us, and we can destroy it."

Sabrina shook her head wearily and said, "Not for another two days, at least. I'm beat, Jane. It takes time to build that much energy up again."

"Could we loan you some?" Annie suggested. "Is there a spell that will let us do that?" She looked to Daphne for an answer.

Daphne shook her head and said, "I have two fairy godmother wands which are good for disguises and that's about it, a bottle of stuff that makes things bigger on the inside than the outside, three protection amulets, a bottle of sleeping potion, and Merlin's wand. None of those will give Sabrina any extra energy that we might have."

"Besides," Mr. Canis said, "we all need to keep whatever energy we have. We'll need it."

"Go back a bit," Peaseblossom said to Daphne. "You've got disguises, right? Could that throw them off our trail?"

"We can try," Daphne said doubtfully, "but it wears off at midnight."

"Wait a second!" Sabrina said, scrambling at her neck, "You can make things bigger inside than out, right?"

"Yeah, but what-" Daphne was cut off as Sabrina let out and ear-piercing whistle, and she saw that her sister was holding a big iron key.

It was a few minutes before the house showed up, stomping its way through the woods on its chicken feet, shaking what leaves were left on the trees. Sabrina stood with a grin as it stopped in front of her and settled itself.

The door opened, and Goldilocks appeared through it, looking very confused as she said, "Sabrina, what-"

Sabrina and Daphne ran past her, though, leaving the others to explain why they were even here, let alone why they'd called the house. Thankfully, nobody else was using the house at the moment, so when Sabrina shut the door, Daphne was free to sprinkle her stuff all over the house, making each room the size of a ballroom. A large ballroom.

Unfortunately, the furniture hadn't grown with the rooms, so they were left with a couch at the far end of a huge hall, a kitchen at their end, and a huge empty space in between, with only a throw rug that took up maybe a tenth of the floor in between. Sabrina assumed the other rooms would look about the same.

"Nice," Puck said, coming up next to her. "You do good work, Marshmallow."

"I hope you closed that door," Sabrina told him without turning around. "Do you know how this stuff works?"

"Well enough," Puck responded, "Of course I closed the door."

"Good," Sabrina said, glancing at the long distance between her and the couch. "I really don't want to walk over there."

But Puck was gone. She turned around and saw him closing the door behind him, and she rolled her eyes.

"Your fee for lying to me is that you get to carry me to that couch," she told him, mock-stern.

Puck made a face, but obligingly carried her over to the couch and dumped her unceremoniously on it.

"What exactly is the point of this?" Puck asked. "Mustardseed and Mr. Canis are totally swamped by Goldilocks. She's not happy."

Sabrina shrugged and said, "They can handle it. If we have the house, we can run. And the house can go faster than they can. Also it gives us the high ground."

"All right, I'll give you that that's pretty useful," Puck conceded.

"Is Daphne going to use the fairy godmother wands on Cricket anyway, then?" Sabrina asked.

"Probably," Puck said, shrugging.

"Good," Sabrina said, closing her eyes, "It's hard to sleep when this place is running."

Puck was going to say something else, but she didn't hear it, because she'd fallen asleep.

* * *

When she woke up, the interior of the house had changed dramatically. The big empty space had been filled with rows of stretchers (Sabrina didn't know where they'd come from) on one side, and tables (a little more explainable, as they were folding, and she remembered seeing a few of them before) on the other. Somehow she'd ended up on the stretcher side, and as she sat up, she found herself surrounded by her injured friends.

"Oh hey, you're awake!" a voice said.

Sabrina looked over and saw a tall chubby stranger with straight brown hair tied back from her forehead and a smattering of freckles smiling down at her, tugging at her long pointy nose.

"Umm..." Sabrina said, brow furrowing as she tugged the filthy red fleece blanket someone had placed on her closer to her nose. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," the strange girl said, giving her a lopsided smile. "It's Peaseblossom. Your sister put a disguise on me and Cricket."

"How's it working?" Sabrina asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"All right so far, I guess," Peaseblossom shrugged, "We haven't seen any sign of the Scarlet Hand."

"So which one's Cricket?" Sabrina asked.

Peaseblossom pointed to a tiny boy with enormous hands an a mop of hair the color of old paper, his eyes wide-spaced around a button of a nose.

"Poor guy," Sabrina said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well," Peaseblossom shrugged, giving him a fond look.

A bell rang- another thing that had appeared in the chicken house without Sabrina's knowledge- and suddenly people came pouring out from the next room and down from the loft, heading for the tables on the far side of the enormous room.

"It's so... organized," Sabrina marveled. "How long was I asleep?"

"Just a couple hours," Peaseblossom said. "But you know how Goldi is. Everything has to be just so."

"Yeah," Sabrina said with a half-smile. "Sort of makes me wonder what my dad saw in her."

"Love is blind, I guess," Peaseblossom shrugged. "Come on, it's time for dinner."

Sabrina got up and wound her way through the orderly rows of stretchchers and tables with various ephemera on them, and thought that Goldi would do well in a real army hospital. Then she crossed a ten-yard barrier of empty space, her feet clacking against the wood floor, and reached the crowded, messy dining area and began hunting for a seat.

She found one next to Daphne. It was at the same table as Art, unfortunately, but she decided that if Daphne could put up with it, she could. Watching their interactions, though, as she waited for the food Daphne told her would be served by a few people chosen by Goldi, she thought that maybe Daphne had forgiven Art. And she thought that, if Daphne could forgive Art, when Tim had been her friend, then maybe it was time for her to start thinking about forgiving him. Or at least speaking to him again.

Dinner was goulash. Sabrina recognized most of the components as leftovers from the camper's previous meals. It was tasty enough, though some of the flavors mixed a little oddly- rosemary potatoes and noodles didn't go to well together, in her opinion. Dessert was some sort of pudding. Sabrina didn't eat it.

After dinner, Daphne offered to show Sabrina around. She took her sister up on the offer, and Daphne led her into the next room.

Sabrina gaped for several seconds, just taking it in. Uncle Jake and Briar's bedroom had been turned into a stable. Sabrina didn't know where their furniture had gotten to, but it was all gone, and there was a layer of leaves (presumably from outside) on the floor, and all the horses and horse-like creatures they'd been riding had been moved in and were eating out of large bowls of grain spread across the floor.

"Wow," she said eventually, "You guys have been busy."

"Yeah," Daphne said with a grin, "They're kind of upset to be cooped up again, but we've been riding them hard. They deserve a break."

"Well, we can't take them home," Sabrina said. "Otherwise I'd say we should, and clean this place up before we totally destroy Uncle Jake and Aunt Briar's bedroom."

"Yeah, well," Daphne shrugged. "We'll probably need them again. And they like it with us."

"Can't imagine why," Sabrina said, "We've almost gotten them killed more than once."

"I dunno," Daphne said, shrugging again. "They just do."

"Huh." Sabrina said, watching the horses cavort in the leaf-strewn room.

"So wanna see the loft, now?" Daphne suggested. "I set up your sleeping bag."

"Sure," Sabrina said.

This time Daphne led Sabrina up the ladder to the loft, which was the size of the main room downstairs as far as the floor was concerned, but had a sloped roof, meaning that the edges were harder to make use of. There was a wall of supplies (bags and weapons and such) on each of the corners, and Sabrina, peeking around one, saw the contents of Uncle Jake and Briar's room, with Goldi's things on it. Sabrina assumed that the other 'wall' hiud Red's bed and Wendy's things, since neither had packed bedding. The space in between the two edges was a village made of tents, also set up in orderly rows, though not quite so army-regulation as the cots downstairs.

"Where's my bed?" Sabrina asked, looking at the groups of people playing cards, or talking, or mock-fighting, between the tents.

"Over here," Daphne said, leading the way to the third tent over and the seventh one in, a nondescript tent against the wall, with its window looking straight out the house's window. "I got us a spot by the window 'cause I thought you'd want to be able to watch."

"Thanks," Sabrina told Daphne, smiling fondly at her.

"No problem," Daphne grinned back. "It's just you and me, too."

"Just like old times," Sabrina said.

"Not unless we sneak out," Daphne disagreed.

"Want to?" Sabrina asked mischievously.

Daphne stared at her, and, after blinking six times, asked, "You mean it?"

"Why not?" Sabrina asked, shrugging. "Someone needs to find out what they've got that can track Cricket. Might as well be us."

"But not tonight," Daphne cautioned. "Tomorrow. After you're a bit more rested."

"Yes, mother," Sabrina sighed, but she grinned at her sister and ruffled her hair.

* * *

The day passed slowly, but well. Sabrina went to bed half an hour after Daphne had shown her around, and she slept late, almost missing breakfast. Goldi recruited her for cleanup duty, which wasn't that difficult, and she found out that they were running a little low on food, but still had a tablecloth Daphne had found that produced endless food- it was just almost entirely meat. She practiced sparring with Puck until lunch, and then after eating, she discussed tactics with Mustardseed. They decided that their next step should be to hijack some vegetables and bread and stuff from the Scarlet Hand. She didn't mention her plan to sneak out with Daphne to him.

They waited until after dinner, playing endless rounds of Spit in the dining area, until they were certain they were the only ones left awake. Then they put their cards away and slid out the door silently, dropping to the ground safely, thanks to Sabrina's still-present ability to control gravity, as the house trundled forward without them.

"Which way?" Sabrina asked quietly.

Daphne, who had her magic eight ball, held it out as she spun in a slow circle. When she'd gone about three quarters of the way back to the direction she'd started, her hands began to vibrate, and, after double checking, she nodded in that direction- southwest.

"Let's move," Sabrina said, and they set off through the forest silently.

They walked half an hour before they reached the source of the magic, Daphne vibrating stronger the further they went, trying their hardest not to crunch the leaves that littered the forest floor. At least they didn't have to worry about plants, as they simply moved out of the way when Daphne approached them.

The source of the magic was located in the middle of a sleeping Scarlet Hand camp. Sabrina stared at it, marveling. Hundreds of mutant _things_ just lying on the ground or in piles like you'd see in "Where the Wild things Are", all surrounding a small collection of tents with a reddish glow peeking out from between them.

"They didn't even bother to post sentries," Daphne whispered, pulling the vibrating magic eight ball back out, so that her next word, "sloppy," came out like she was speaking through a fan.

"Well, would you want to walk through those things to get to them?" Sabrina asked pointedly. "They probably wake up easy."

"Good point," Daphne said, still sounding like she was talking through an electric fan. "Carry me over?"

In response, Sabrina unfurled her wings and grabbed her sister by the back of her sweatshirt, trying to get a good grip on her, even though she was vibrating like an electric back massager with new batteries. Once she had a solid grip and was convinced she wouldn't drop her sister, she took off and asked, "Where to?"

Daphne simply pointed to the largest tent, and Sabrina flew them over the monstrosities to its back flap.

Sabrina let her sister go when they'd touched down, and, pulling up the flap, stopped for a second. Heart was sleeping in that tent, snoring softly, a mirror propped up directly to Sabrina's left. There was a table on the far side of the room with a collection of things on it, and below it, a trunk, presumably also full of stuff.

Sabrina pointed the mirror out to Daphne, who nodded and pointed to a wand hanging from her belt.

Sabrina shook her head desperately and pointed at Daphne.

Daphne gestured to the vibrating black sphere in her hand, making a face that clearly said, 'I can't do that and this!'

Sabrina let out a silent yet dramatic sigh and grabbed the wand with her fingertips, then whispered, "Gimme some curtains!"

A set of curtains appeared around the mirror, and Sabrina gave the wand back to Daphne as fast as she could, convincing herself it would be a horrible idea to keep it. Daphne smiled at her, and the two walked into the tent. Daphne headed straight to the table and pointed out a small gold locket hanging off a jewelry stand on the table.

Sabrina picked it up and held it towards Daphne questioningly. Daphne nodded, and they headed out of the tent the way they'd come in.

The two sisters were just giving themselves high fives when Daphne, still vibrating strongly, stepped on a twig. It snapped with a loud 'crack!'

Both girls froze, suddenly finding themselves surrounded by a hundred oddly colored eyes.

Sabrina muttered, "Uh-oh," and the stillness was broken. The mutants, very much awake now, converged.


	123. Feed Me

**AN~ Sorry for however long I took, guys. Here's an update. :) Bit low on review count last chapter. How come?  
**

QotD: What everyday object do you think would make the best weapon? Why?

**Previous QotD winner: Kasena with her room-cleaning app.  
**

**Review Replies:**

**_Athena: _Yeah. I got a bunch of reviews from an anonymous reviewer with your name that which implied that she didn't like me very much. Maybe I gave her some reasons. Maybe she started it.  
**

**_Choco-Bilby:_ I have yet to receive a response. I may have to report it, now that I've learned I can just hook up my facebook to Wattpad.  
**

**_Savannah Starlit:_ I'm glad you like it so much! :D PUCKABRINA should have its own category? I didn't quite get that. I wonder why your mom banned you. You know, if you just have one password that you change around for each website, it'll be easier for you to remember them all, and you won't need a book. And your last bit was describing your story, right? It cut off early.**

* * *

"I can't believe you!" Sabrina shouted over her shoulder at Daphne, pulling her sword out and transforming it into its larger form.

"What did _I_ do?" Daphne shouted back. She already had a wand out and ready, the locket clutched in her free hand.

"Broke the freaking stick, that's what!" Sabrina snapped, holding her sword before her. "_Now_ how are we going to get out of this?"

"I don't know!" Daphne returned, spraying sparks at a mutant thing that had come too close. "Can't you, like, magic us out of here?"

"Oh, sure, I'll just use my no longer in existence time magic so we can run away!" Sabrina snapped, slashing out at a mutant and cutting off a purple tentacle that snaked towards her. "Or I'll gravity us away! That'll do a lot of good! Or, wait, how about I leave my body so they can kill it while I'm gone! Or I'll make sure they're not lying to me! Great idea!"

"Well, I'm sorry you're not_ God_ anymore, Sabrina!" Daphne snapped. "I can't exactly do anything, either!"

"Well, we can't fight our way out!" Sabrina said, and she was suddenly a lot less angry sounding. "There's too many."

"I know," Daphne said quietly, her body still tense as she shot more sparks at a thing that bore a resemblance to a giant blue terrier with sabertooth fangs and wings. It caught on fire and she whispered, "I'm sorry, puppy."'

Sabrina lengthened her sword, stabbing a snake with oozing pus spots with the longer blade, and they fought for a few minutes, stabbing and slicing and spraying and transforming and dodging.

"Daph," Sabrina said, kicking a thing in the face while she wrenched her sword free of its stomach, "You'll have to go."

"What?" Daphne asked incredulously, pushing back against her sister so she had leverage.

"Turn into a bat or something and fly off," Sabrina said, "You're good enough to dodge them, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Do it," Sabrina cut her off, both feet on the ground again, sword already swinging at the next thing, "I can distract them while you head out. Get that tracker back so everyone's safe, all right?"

"Dammit, Sabrina, stop being self-sacrificing!" Daphne snapped, delivering a jump-kick to a thing's face since it had grabbed her wand.

"I'm not!" Sabrina shouted, her sword dancing mesmerisingly in front of a monkey-duck thing. "But if you're gone, I can fly. So go, all right?"

"Fine," Daphne snapped, and then she was a bat, the locket hanging from her talons, and Sabrina flew up with her as the mutants closed in, blocking her from their sight. Once Daphne was high enough that the shining of the necklace was lost in the stars, Sabrina flew the opposite way, shouting loudly.

The monsters followed her, and Sabrina thought all was going well until an arrow sliced through the bottom of her left wing, pulling one of her feathers apart. She glared in the direction it had come from and made a face. The Everafters were up. Her chances of survival had just been cut about in half, because the mutants at least seemed to be pretty stupid.

Of course, one could argue that a lot of _people_ in the Scarlet Hand were, too, but that was besides the point.

She stopped fighting entirely and switched to dodging, wishing she had enough energy to make herself a small barrier. She flew off in the woods in the opposite direction Daphne had gone, hoping she could at least hide a little.

That was when she heard a roar overhead. Looking up, she cursed- something she'd been trying not to do as much, but she figured it was worth it. There was a dragon directly above her.

"Of course," she muttered, "It's not enough that they have like three hundred mutants and a hundred plain old evil Everafters, they've got to have the biggest baddest monsters of them all. Can't take any chances that this one girl will get away, let's send the dragons out!"

There was no way she could outfly a dragon. But she couldn't stand and fight, either. She didn't really want to die anytime soon.

She was still deciding what to do when there was a bright flash overhead, and suddenly, the dragon pulled up short, and an acidic dark blob splashed to the ground nearby.

"What the-" she muttered, peering closer.

"You didn't think you could sneak out without me noticing, did you, Grimm?" Puck's voice called down to her. "I've got the big one! You take the horde?"

Sabrina rolled her eyes with a small smile and muttered, "Typical Puck. Always has to be dramatic."

"You bet I do!" he shouted, and she blinked. Hadn't thought he'd be able to hear her.

She turned to face the 'horde', as Puck had dubbed them, and as she turned, she realized something. There was a sizeably large cliff nearby. She could see the edge of it from where she was. Heck, she'd been here before! She knew what to do, now. Instead of dodging (well, except for the arrows. Dodging arrows was always a good thing), she beelined for the cliff, and, as she'd planned, the Hand followed her. And she flew fast enough that they were so focused on following her that most of them flew over the cliff themselves. She touched down safely on the other side of the twenty-by-fifty-foot gorge and smirked at the ones who hadn't just run to their deaths or severe injuries.

"You think you're safe?" Nottingham called. "We have archers!"

"Oh, I know," Sabrina said, a smile still on her face.

"Then what's so amusing?" Heart snapped.

"Well, for one thing, your archers haven't hit me yet, and I'm just standing here," Sabrina pointed out. She noticed several bows get raised into the air after that and she decided to hurry, saying, "But I was just thinking- it's like lemmings."

They gave her a blank look, so she continued, "You know? Lemmings? They're so stupid and group-oriented that they'll follow the leader straight off a cliff?"

An arrow was coming for her, so she ducked. Then she winked at them and flew off.

As she left, she heard Heart bellow, "Well, don't just stand there! Follow her!"

She flew about half a mile north before turning back towards the house. Puck joined her three quarters of the way there with a fistful of dragon scales, some of them dripping with Sabrina didn't want to know what.

"You handle your end?" he asked her.

She nodded and asked, "You?"

"Duh," he said, gesturing to the scales. "I thought these would make awesome decorations, though, so I kept them. Want some?"

Sabrina shuddered and said, "No thanks." She thought about asking what he was going to decorate with them, but then decided against it. She didn't really want to know. Instead she said, "I didn't know you were into interior decorating."

Puck nodded and said seriously, "Villain, remember? We've got to have our lairs just perfect, otherwise there are issues. And I couldn't find an interior decorator who got it right, so I designed it myself. You should have seen the place, it was awesome."

Sabrina blinked several times, trying to think up a response.

Before she could, Daphne came running out of nowhere, squealing, "Sabrina! You're okay!"

Daphne ran into Sabrina with a thunk and hugged her. Sabrina hugged back, suddenly becoming aware of the monster guts that stuck to both of them. Behind Daphne came about twenty other people, all armed.

"I see you got backup," she noted.

"So did you," Daphne said, "Hi, Puck."

"Hey, Marshmallow," Puck said, waving his scales at her. "How was your night? Mine was awesome. I killed a dragon."

"Oh, is that what those are?" Peaseblossom asked, wrinkling her nose. "Can you get rid of them, please?"

"No!" Puck said, horror in his voice as he pulled away from her and shielded his scales with his body.

"Thanks for getting this for us," Peaseblossom told Sabrina, swinging the locket in her fist. "They can't track us without it."

"Don't thank her!" Goldilocks protested, "They snuck out! They're supposed to be old enough to know better by now!"

Puck rolled his eyes and said, "The day Sabrina and Daphne stop sneaking out of places is the day they don't have anyone to sneak away from. It's in their nature."

"I almost think he might have a point," Mr. Canis said dryly. "Annoying as it may be."

"Almost?" Puck asked, indignant.

"Almost," Mr. Canis repeated firmly.

"Well, since Sabrina apparently doesn't need rescuing and it seems she's capable of freeing herself from four hundred adversaries on her own, can we go back to bed now?" Mustardseed asked pointedly. "We're attacking the Hand's base tomorrow, and I for one would like a good night's sleep."

"We're what?" everyone asked. Sabrina was the loudest.

"If you can make decisions without me, I can make them without you," Mustardseed told Sabrina defensively.

Sabrina glared at him anyway.

Mustardseed shrugged and said, "We need food. We can't go home for it. The Hand has food. So we're getting it."

"All right," Sabrina said, giving him a pointed look, "But don't blame me if it goes wrong."

"It won't," a vaguely familiar voice said from Sabrina's left, just out of sight.

"How do you know?" she accused, searching for the speaker.

"Because I can get you in," he said, and stepped forward. It was Tom. Again.

"So are you like, a full-out double agent now?" Puck asked Tom.

Tom gave him a smile that reminded Sabrina of her own 'I have a secret' face and said, "I'm my own man. I just feel like helping you people out right now."

"Why?" Sabrina asked.

"You'll find out eventually," Tom said, giving her a real smile.

"Oh," Sabrina said, "Well, tomorrow, then? What time?"

"Ten," Tom said, "There's a meeting, so they'll be out of the way. And the kitchen will be empty."

"Great," Sabrina said, smiling tightly. "See you then. I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight," Tom said, and like that, he was gone.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Mustardseed said, "All right, everyone! Get your things together! Tom should be here in a few minutes!"

"Whoopty-doo," Puck muttered tracing patterns on the table.

"What's with you?" Sabrina asked. "He's not lying, I'd know."

"Yeah, I know," Puck said, but his voice was still sullen.

"So who got your knickers in a knot?" she asked, grabbing his hand to keep him from outlinging more bombs on the tabletop. She left their hands intertwined.

Puck shrugged and said, "I just don't like the way he looks at you. It's creepy."

"Yeah, it kind of is," Sabrina agreed, "but we can use all the help we can get right now. I'll just avoid him."

"Fine," Puck agreed, pulling their clasped hands off the table, where they were less likely to be seen.

Sabrina rubbed her thumb up and down Puck's hand and said, "We should hang out after this. Just you and me."

"Sure," Puck agreed, grinning at her. "Roof?"

Sabrina grinned and said, "Definitely. After we're clean."

Puck made a face but said, "If you're determined..."

"I'm not kissing you unless you don't taste disgusting, and I'm not cuddling with you if you smell," Sabrina told him, "We've talked about this, Puck."

"Fine," Puck said with a sigh.

Sabrina smiled and was going to say something else, but she felt something on her head, and she let go of Puck's hand to see what it was. But by the time she reached her hair, it was gone, and Tom was standing next to her table.

Mustardseed, two tables over, noticed and stood, saying, "Good. Now we can get started."

Tom smiled at Sabrina and then was on top of Mustardseed's table (the center one) and shouting at everyone, "You ready to get moving?"

Puck rolled his eyes.

Sabrina grabbed his hand again and whispered, "I know. Just ignore him."

"But- we don't- that's so-"

"Corny, I know," Sabrina said. "But we need him, I guess. So..."

Puck sighed and said, "Fine. But if he sleeps here, he's waking up with something disgusting in his hair."

"Go right ahead," Sabrina assured him, deciding it wasn't worth it to stop him. For one thing, if she did, he'd probably put something gross in _her_ hair, and for another, Tom kind of deserved it.

They sat and listened to his 'pep talk' for a bit, most of which seemed very different than the Tom Cricket had described- full of himself and unconcerned with the whole world outside himself. Then, finally, he was finished, and they were off to Mab's castle.

They took the chicken house until they were about two miles away- the dragons patrolled the sky from then in, Tom told them, and they'd notice a walking cottage. From there they walked.

It was a nice enough day. A bit nippy, but the sun shone through the spotty clouds in a cold, far-away sort of fashion, making the air seem crystalline, and the leaves crunched under most people's feet- not Sabrina and Daphne's, though. They might have been city sneaks, but they knew how to avoid making noise wherever they went. The bare trees swayed back and forth overhead in a strong breeze that blew bits of color-splotched brown around their ankles.

When they got into the clear space around Mab's castle, Tom motioned for everyone to stay back, and then he was suddenly in the middle of the clearing, whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like 'She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain'. The dragons, five of them, appeared out of nowhere to land in the clearing with him. He started talking animatedly.

Sabrina and Mustardseed looked at each other, nodded, and, checking one last time that Tom had the dragons occupied, ran across the yard, leading the others with them. Sabrina decided, as they ran, that having no windows might make you safer, but it also cut down on your ability to detect who was coming, even if you did have a room full of mirrors that showed you everything ever. Because if you weren't in the room, or looking at the right mirror, you were a bit screwed.

They were in the fortress, then, and Tom was with them.

"Can you go check the spy-room or whatever it is?" Sabrina asked him.

Tom nodded and was gone. He was back a minute later.

"Well?" Puck asked, when he didn't offer any information.

"You're fine," Tom said, giving him a disdainful look. "The guy in there is so busy watching the meeting that everyone else is at that he wouldn't notice if I started jumping up and down in one of the other camera-views shouting his name. Idiot."

"Great," Sabrina said, a smile starting to form on his face. "What about the kitchens?"

"They'll be empty," Tom said, as if that was obvious.

Sabrina gave him a smile full of steel and said, "Check anyway, will you?"

Tom rolled his eyes and said, "Fine," and then he was gone. Back again thirty seconds later, he said, "Empty. Like I said."

"All right, we can go now," Sabrina said, "Lead the way."

Tom led them through the opulent halls, and Sabrina tried not to concentrate too hard on the frescoes depicting fairies being better than humans and Everafters dominating the world. They were beautiful, and they drew the eye with an almost hypnotic quality, and they were horrifying, but she knew a spell when she saw one, so she avoided looking at them at all, pulling other people she saw looking at the walls forward when they slowed.

The frescoes got less exciting and sometimes weren't there at all the closer they got to the kitchen, and Sabrina sort of wondered who got the wonderful task of working as a servant for Mab. Faerie didn't have servants, really, she'd noticed.

"We're here," Tom said suddenly, when they reached a dimly lit hall with no paintings at all and cracked plaster walls.

Sabrina glanced around warily for a minute. This seemed shady.

She smiled at Tom the same way she had before and said, "Would you mind checking one more time to make sure nobody's in there? Please?"

Tom looked kind of exasperated, but he said, "All right. We're fine, though, you know."

"I don't, actually," Sabrina said, "So can you go make sure? I'd hate to have to do something nasty to you if it turned out that there were people in there and all my friends here died or something."

Tom rolled his eyes and said, "I'm going," and then he was gone. He came back, gave Sabrina a pointed look and said, "It's empty."

"Great," Sabrina said with a smile, "Then we can go in."

She led the way into the kitchen.


	124. Quasi-Dates

**AN~ So that reviewing thing, guys. What happened? Is it 'cause I'm not updating on Friday anymore? I can sit on them 'til Fridays if you want. Or am I just spoiled?  
**

QotU: Do I have any loose ends to tie up? I know I've asked that already, but I need to know again. What do you still have questions about?

**Previous QotD winner: Alapest and earrings.  
**

**Review Replies:**

**_hannnnnahhhhh: _They've kissed more than that. You just haven't seen much of it, because this is not, nor has it ever been, a romance. But the rooftop scene will hopefully be romantic enough for you.**

**_Savannah Starlit: _Before you post this fanfic, I want to warn you about something: Savannah is a Mary Sue. Please look up 'Mary Sue Litmus Test' online and fill it out for your character; she's a little too convenient. QotD: You're not technically eligible for the QotD because even though you wrote quite a few long reviews, none of them are about MY story, which is the requirement. I was getting too many JUST QotD reviews, so I had to put in that standard.**

* * *

The kitchen was empty. Of course, Sabrina had pretty much known it would be, because she'd have been able to tell if Tom was lying, but someone could always have been hiding in the corner somewhere. Or something.

"All right, everyone, go get as much food as you can," Mustardseed said, handing out bags to people as they filed into the kitchen.

They'd been gathering food for only a short time when the bell started ringing. Sabrina and most of the others spun to the source and found Cricket ringing it.

"What are you _doing_?" Peaseblossom shrieked, pulling his arm away from the string that rang the bell.

Cricket, whose expression was a bit vague, said, "I'm alerting them. Intruders in the castle."

"Cricket!" Peaseblossom wailed.

"Everyone out!" Sabrina called, "Everyone go _now_!"

"I can't believe you betrayed me again," Peaseblossom said to the blank-faced Cricket. "I trusted you!"

Cricket didn't even have the decency to apologize. He just shrugged and returned to the bell.

Peaseblossom's heartbroken expression turned furious, and, as he was going to pull the bell again, she slapped him fiercely across the face.

Cricket's expression cleared suddenly and he asked, "What did you do that for?"

Peaseblossom stared at him and said, "You were just ringing some sort of alarm bell!"

"No, I wouldn't..." Cricket trailed off, looking confused.

"Well, you just did," Peaseblossom snapped.

"Maybe he was under a spell?" Daphne suggested, pausing in her exit.

"I think I'd know," Cricket said, but he was looking more thoughtful than dismissive.

"Well, how can we tell?" Peaseblossom asked, giving her husband a strange look.

"Catch," Annie said, working something out of her pocket and throwing it to Cricket.

Cricket fumbled for the thing and, when he had it firmly in his grasp, began to glow blue, starting at his fingertips and working its way up.

"Nice," Daphne said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Annie said with a smile. "Cricket, someone's enchanted you."

"Great, he's not a traitor," Sabrina said, "Now can we get back to the running for our lives thing?"

"Chill," Tom said, and he sounded disdainful, which was so much more normal for what she knew of him than how he'd been acting today that she barely even jumped at the fact that his voice was right behind her. He continued, "I jumped in there and told them I'd been getting a snack and bumped the bell. They believed me. Helped that I had an apple in my hand. Idiots."

"So we're good?" Sabrina asked, "You sure? I hate to be a butt about this, but I really don't want to die today. So you have to be positive."

"I'm positive, okay?" Tom said, rolling his eyes.

"All right, everyone, false alarm!" Mustardseed called. "Go back to gathering! Come see me when your bags are full!"

The food stealing went smoothly after that, but after several minutes, Will looked up and said, sniffing, "Do you smell something burning?"

Everyone else sniffed and nodded.

It was Marcus who found it, and he said, "Ohmigosh the freaking cabinet's on fire!"

It was.

"Guys?" Sabrina said, "Know how I said run before? Run three times that fast. Now!"

Everyone scattered except Puck, Sabrina, and Will's girlfriend Yvonne. Sabrina was a bit surprised she'd stayed, since she was pretty sure the older girl had only come because Will was there.

"What do we do?" Puck asked, watching as the flames spread.

Sabrina shrugged and turned to Yvonne.

"We let it burn!" Yvonee said loudly over the growing roar of the flames. "We help it!"

"What?" Sabrina and Puck said in concert, both sounding incredulous.

"Think about it," Yvonne said, dangling a dishtowel over the flames, "THis'll be a huge blow for the Hand. They won't have their fortress. Or they'll have a lot less of it. We can totally take them down three notches if we do this! We can bring them to our level!"

Puck and Sabrina looked at each other and shrugged. Then Puck picked up a dishtowel of his own and hung it over the fire while Yvonne threw her burning rag across the room.

Sabrina watched them for a second, then backed away, shaking her head. "I... I can't, guys. I mean, leaving it is one thing, but... arson? People could die."

"We're in a war," Yvonne said, raising her eyebrows. "People are going to die anyway."

"Yeah, but... not like this," Sabrina said softly.

Yvonne shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

Sabrina backed out of the room, eyes wide, and then, as soon as she'd left, ran for her life as the fire spread. She wasn't sure why, but setting a building on fire seemed worse than anything she'd ever done, and it was something she never wanted to do. She could kill people in a battle, and monsters whenever, but she couldn't set something on fire in cold blood. That was just... awful.

And she wasn't sure how she deal with Puck being okay with that.

There was a roar behind her, and she suddenly felt warmer, so she ran faster, putting Puck and this crisis out of her mind for the time being to deal with the more immediate problem of how to avoid being burned alive. She almost got turned around at one point, but Mustardseed had been waiting and directed her to the exit. She made it out of the building, panting and sweating from more than just exertion. Mustardseed, Puck, and Yvonne ran out a few minutes later, and everyone headed for the woods. Tom wasn't with them.

Soon after they'd all made it into the woods, there was a tremendous crackling crash, and the flames were suddenly visible from the outside. Minutes after that, Scarlet Hand members began leaving the building in droves, shoving each other out the small doors.

Several of the Emerald Foot members had stopped running and were staring, so Sabrina glared murder at them all and snapped, "What are you doing? Move move move!"

They moved, scurrying for the chicken house and away from Sabrina's wrath, full bags bouncing along with them.

Safely inside, they sat down as the chicken house bounded away, and Daphne said, "It's a bit sad, really."

"What is?" Jonas asked, pulling an apple out of his bag and taking a loud, crunching bite out of it.

"That it's all burning down," Daphne said. "I mean, I know they were evil and all, but the inside was pretty."

"It is too bad to lose the art," Red agreed.

"Whatever you say," Jonas said, looking bewildered, "I say good riddance."

Sabrina, listening, shook her head and walked off to the porch. She still wasn't sure what to think. She'd talk it over with Puck when he showed up, she guessed.

Tom was out there. He'd apparently come back.

"Where have you been?" Sabrina snapped.

"I was betraying your location to my multitude of friends in the Scarlet Hand," Tom rolled his eyes. "Where do you think I was? Covering your butts again."

"Well, thanks," Sabrina said, less angry now.

"No problem," Tom said, but he rolled his eyes.

"What is with you?" Sabrina snapped. "You're such a jerk! I know I've only seen you like four times, but you haven't said one nice thing in that whole time!"

"I can't help it that I'm better than you," Tom shrugged.

"Oh yes, you're absolutely amazing," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. "So big and brave and strong and nice and powerful, Tom. I'm just astounded by your awesomeness."

"I may not be any of those things, but I'm smart," Tom said. "You should understand it. You're like me."

Sabrina gaped at him and, with an astounded breath of laughter, said, "I'm _nothing_ like you."

"You don't want to be like me?" Tom asked.

"No!" Sabrina said, "You're nasty to everyone! I don't know why Cricket thinks you're a friend."

"'Cause I'm honest," Tom said with a shrug. "And I'm not a sheep like most of the Hand."

"Well, that's not a basis of a friendship," Sabrina scoffed.

"You really think I'm that nasty?" Tom asked.

"Yeah," Sabrina said.

"Well," Tom said, took a deep breath, and continued, "I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you?"

"How?" Sabrina asked skeptically.

"I'll take you to my favorite place in the world," Tom said, "It's an ice cream shop in Quebec. And I'll treat you to anything you want and try to have a civil conversation."

"Well..." Sabrina wavered, thinking of Puck.

"Come on, why not?" Tom said, holding his hand out to her.

"It sounds fun, but I was waiting for Puck," Sabrina said, "We were going to..." She trailed off.

"Why would you want to hang out with that loser?" Tom asked, smiling at her as if they were sharing an inside joke, or she'd just been nice to Puck, but now that a better offer had come along, she should drop it.

"Well..." Sabrina looked out at the woods they were traveling through, thinking. It was a beautiful afternoon, the slightest breeze moving the few wispy clouds through the gaps in the trees, and the leaves on the ground blowing around in patterns.

Ice cream sounded wonderful, even if it was cold. She hadn't had it in ages. And she still didn't know what she was going to say to Puck. But ditching him for a guy she didn't even like? That was just cruel. And yet... she got a feeling that they had to move very carefully to keep Tom on their side. He wasn't like anyone she'd met so far; he only seemed to help who he did on a whim. And she wanted to keep his whims focused on helping them for as long as possible.

So... "All right," she said, "But we'll have to take Daphne. If she finds out that I got ice cream and didn't take her, she'll flip."

Tom looked incredibly disappointed but agreed. So Sabrina went in, grabbed Daphne, and brought her back to the porch. Tom grabbed the two girls by the hand, and suddenly the three of them were inside a green and white ice cream parlor that was entirely too quaint for what Sabrina would have expected of Tom.

The ice cream was incredible, and Tom was nicer. Still annoying, stuck up, and sarcastic, but he was trying, Sabrina could tell. After they'd finished, Tom brought them home, and Sabrina smiled at him as Daphne ran off.

"Thanks," she said, "That was nice."

"No problem," Tom answered with a return smile, "Maybe we can do it again sometime."

"Maybe," Sabrina agreed.

Tom hesitated for a moment, then said, "Well... yeah. See you around, I guess."

And then he was gone.

Looking at the place he'd been, Sabrina shook her head. He was a strange one.

"Sabrina!" Puck called, coming up to her from elsewhere in the room.

"Hey," Sabrina said, smiling awkwardly. She still didn't know what she'd say to him.

"Where've you been?" Puck asked, "I've been looking for you since we got back."

"Tom took me and Daphne for ice cream," Sabrina said, giving him a look that showed how confused that made her. "It was... weird."

"_He's_ weird," Puck muttered.

"We've established that," Sabrina said.

"So..." Puck said, "You wanna go?"

"All right," Sabrina agreed.

They headed for the roof as discreetly as possible and laid down on opposite sides of the peak, leaning against the chimney, not touching, Puck doing most of the talking.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked eventually. "You're all quiet and weird."

Sabrina, who up 'til now hadn't had any idea what to say, suddenly found it exploding out of her, and she said, "It's just that you were totally okay with burning down a building and we could have killed them all and I've been burned before, Puck, and it hurts like heck and I think that would be the worst way to die and you were pretty much saying that that was all right and I don't know how I feel about that... or how I feel about you thinking that."

"I wasn't," Puck said, once they'd been silent for long enough that he was sure she was finished.

"Weren't what?" Sabrina asked, looking at him for the first time.

"Okay with burning them all to death," Puck explained.

"Then why did you..."

"When I was there, remember that?" Puck asked, glancing over at her, "Well, I saw the safety precautions they have. They're ridiculous. I knew they'd all get out. So I didn't have a problem with it."

"Oh," Sabrina said softly.

"Why does it bother you so much?" Puck asked.

"I don't know," Sabrina said, "I've been trying to figure it out, but... burning just seems... horrible. I mean, I've done some horrible stuff, yeah. This is a war. Everyone does horrible stuff. But that's too far. If you're going to kill someone, it should at least be quick."

"Yeah, I guess," Puck shrugged. "Hey, listen, next time you find out something that bothers you that much? Tell me."

"Why?" Sabrina asked, "So you can tease me about it?"

"No, so I can make sure I don't do it," Puck said, rolling his eyes. "I only tease you about stuff that doesn't matter. Important stuff... I love you, Sabrina."

Sabrina wasn't quite sure how those two statements led into each other, but she said, "I love you, too."

"Good," Puck said, and he leaned over to kiss her.

Sabrina started to kiss him back, then pulled back, smacking her lips. "Puck, you taste disgusting. Go brush your teeth."

"I did!" Puck protested, though he stood anyway.

"When?" Sabrina challenged, raising her eyebrows.

"Yesterday..." Puck muttered.

"I thought so," Sabrina said, rolling her eyes.

Puck flew off, and Sabrina smiled dryly. She went to shift herself, and found that she couldn't. She was stuck to the roof.

Suspicious, she reached down and felt at it. Sure enough, the distinct texture of dried glue lined the seat of her pants.

"_Pu-uck_!"

She heard a high-pitched giggle from over the edge of the house.

When Puck returned, she refused to look at him, arms folded, glaring resolutely at a cloud that looked like a Christmas tree.

"Oh, good, you waited for me," Puck said, smiling at her. "I wasn't too long, was I? I'd hate for you to have been stuck here for ages being bored."

"You better have something that'll get me free," she said, glaring at him.

"Oh, I do," Puck said, grinning at her, "But you'll have to earn it."

"How?" Sabrina asked sullenly.

"Kisses," Puck answered, "I have not gotten nearly enough of them from you recently, and I want to make sure you stay put long enough for me to get caught up."

"Kiss my butt," Sabrina muttered.

"I would," Puck said, grinning, "But that'd be a bit difficult, seeing as you're glued to the slates. You could take off your pants and then I could kiss it," he suggested brightly.

"Heck no!" Sabrina snapped, indignant. "My pants stay _on_!"

"Too bad," Puck said with a shrug, "That'd be an easy way for you to get free."

"I hate you," Sabrina said, folding her arms.

"You love me," Puck said confidently, and he sat down very close to her.

Sabrina turned her face away from him.

It took several tickling misplaced kisses for Sabrina to give in, deciding that Puck had had enough punishment, and it obviously wasn't working. She'd just have to try a new way. So while she was kissing him back, she worked her hand into his sweatshirt pocket, feeling around slowly until she found a small bottle that he'd used to free her from his glue-messes before. Breaking the kiss, she pulled it out triumphantly grinning at him.

"How did you-" Puck asked, gaping.

Sabrina unstoppered the bottle and began applying it to the seat of her pants, working her way free while he was still confused. She only got about halfway done before he came out of his daze and started trying to get the bottle back.

"Wait a minute, I wasn't done yet!" he said, grabbing at the bottle with his left hand and her face with his right.

They struggled for a while, and eventually Sabrina worked herself free, letting him kiss her a few times in the process. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the kisses, Puck just had to earn the right to kiss her. And gluing her down was not earning the right. So when she worked her way free and he chased her, she flew for the sky, laughing as she left him behind.

Of course, he had that whole mega-speed thing, so he caught up in seconds, pinning her to a tree.

She turned her face away resolutely, still laughing a little.

"Come on," Puck pleaded, "Kiss me back."

"You know what you have to do," Sabrina told him.

Puck rolled his eyes and said nothing for several seconds, but Sabrina just stared at him until he said, "I'm sorry."

"Do you promise not to do it again?" Sabrina prompted.

"I promise not to glue you to the roof of the chicken house again," Puck muttered grudgingly.

That wasn't really what she wanted, but it was better than nothing, so she said, "All right."

Puck grinned and pressed his lips to hers. This time, she kissed him back.


	125. I'm Too Lazy To Write Fight Scenes

**AN~ ****I'm back! Sorry for the wait, everyone, but... NaNo comes first. And I WON THIS YEAR! 50,089 words in 28 days! Also sorry that this is a little short. I guess I'm losing steam for this.**

**ALSO, PEOPLE: IF YOU HAVE ANY 'But what about...?' QUESTIONS, ASK THEM NOW. I'M ABOUT TO FINISH THIS STORY. LIKE LESS THAN FIVE CHAPTERS LEFT FINISH. DO NOT WAIT.**

QotU: You and a Disney princess (definition of Disney princess: NOT MULAN, and not from a Dreamworks movie. Pocahontas is a go, though, and so are the lesser-known ones, like Kida and Eilonwy) get to go on an adventure. Who do you choose, where do you go, what happens, and why her?

**Previous QotD winner: jdr ride, who actually had questions.  
**

**Review Replies:**

**_foxface: _Thanks for all the compliments! I'm glad you liked it so much! :D Also thanks. It's rough, but I'm making it, mostly.  
**

**_hannnnnaaaaaahhh:_ Good. I'm glad.**

**_Ice mask:_ I'm glad you're so enthusiastic! :) But the 'update' stuff kind of irritates me a little. I get that you want more, but... I put a lot of work into these, and reviews like that make me feel like you don't appreciate that I'm not just slapping these together, and that I have other things to do with my time than write fanfiction. Although I'll give you that THIS was just a rude wait.**

* * *

The next day, they decided what to do about all their problems: the crowd factor, the bathroom wait, and the 'what do we do now?' issue.

Jane had wanted to make a schedule for the bathroom, but Sabrina had pointed out that it meant they all got about ten minutes in the bathroom a day, which was not okay with her at all, so eventually Jane had submitted and let them use their own plan: Divide and conquer.

They would divide up into groups of ten or so, with Bella and whoever was too injured to fight staying back at the chicken house, along with at least two squads of ten healthy people, to find the now-homeless Scarlet Hand and beat them back, since they were likely to be desperate and searching for food. Every week, one squad would come back to the chicken house to get more supplies and get help for anyone who'd gotten injured, and one of the resting squads would go out in their place.

Mr. Clay and most of the others liked the idea. They ended up with eleven healthy groups of people, each one led by either Sabrina, Mr. Clay, Puck, Mustardseed, Will, Annie, Art, Ariel, Peaseblossom, Jane, or Wendy. Mr. Clay's group and Art's were the first to stay at the house. The others left.

Tom showed up with Sabrina's group several times during the next few weeks, and she assumed he went other places, too. He always had some interesting tidbit that would help them out. The Scarlet Hand seemed to know they were coming, a lot, though, and they didn't do as much damage as they might have, even when Tom told them where some Hand members were.

The kids made contact with the adults for the first time since they'd left, and there was a lot of shouting, but in the end, most parents allowed their kids to stay where they were, instead of dragging them back home.

Life was hard, but manageable.

After four weeks of wandering around in the winter woods, it was Sabrina's squad's turn to go come. She took her first hot shower in that long, slept inside, and let Bella patch up her minor injuries, relaxing for a few days.

Two weeks later, though, she was back out in the wilderness.

* * *

One day stuck out in her memory, separate from the blur of the rest of that January in her mind: Tom had come to visit again, and he pulled her off a little ways away from everyone else.

"Sabrina?" he said, taking a deep breath. "I have something to say to you."

"All right," Sabrina said, looking up at him, confused.

"I have a thing for you," Tom said. "A, like, I'm in love with you thing. Will you go out with me?"

Sabrina just blinked at Tom for several minutes. Eventually, she said, "That's really sweet, but... I kind of sort of have a boyfriend..."

It was Tom's turn to stare. Then he made a face and said, "Great. Now what am I supposed to do? I love you, and you just shot me down."

Sabrina shook her head and said, "You don't love me. It might be a crush, but you're not in love."

"How do you know?" Tom accused, squinting at her.

"You'd be a million times more upset if you were in love," Sabrina said, "Plus, love doesn't happen that fast. You don't know me well enough to be in love."

"So what do I do?" Tom asked. "Since you don't like me? I don't suppose you'd be willing to break up with whatshisface and go out with me?"

Sabrina shook her head with a small smile and said, "Nope. And what you do is up to you. You could get really mad at me and go tell the Hand everything we've been up to, all our plans and stuff. Or you could try to move on and stay friends with me."

"That one, I guess," Tom said with a shrug.

"Good," Sabrina said. "Just... please stop staring at me? It's kind of creepy."

"Sure," Tom said, and that was the end of that.

It went better than Sabrina would have expected it to, if she'd seen it coming, and she was pleased that he hadn't gone berserk on her. The next time she saw Puck, she gave him an extra-long hug, because she was grateful. For everything.

* * *

The next thing that happened was that Annie's squad was badly beaten because the Hand had somehow learned what they were up to, and been waiting to ambush them.

"I think we have a traitor," Mustardseed told Sabrina. Their squads had met up to discuss the issues, and they were sitting in front of a campfire in the woods at night.

"Probably," Sabrina agreed. "How do we catch them?"

Puck, who was also there, grinned slowly and said, "I have a plan."

* * *

Puck's plan entailed telling everyone about a false plan, and then having Mustardseed put some sort of tracer spell on them so they could see who told. It was a lot simpler than Sabrina would normally pin to him, but it worked, so she didn't comment as they went to confront the girl who'd set off their little alarm.

They found her with a small mirror, talking into it quickly in a low voice, a small redhead with a round nose.

It took five of them to take her out, and then Mustardseed's squad escorted her to the fort, where she'd be put in their jail.

"I don't even know her name," Sabrina commented to Puck, as they watched her being dragged off. She'd lost her fire since her capture, and was looking resigned to her fate.

"It's Lexington Edmond," Puck said, "She's from Faerie. A lot younger than I am, but we knew each other a bit."

"Oh," Sabrina said, "I wonder why she turned traitor?"

Puck shrugged. "They offered her something she wanted, I guess."

Sabrina snorted. "They offered us _all_ something we wanted. And you don't see us over there."

"True enough," Puck agreed, "But maybe she wanted it bad enough."

"I guess we'll never know," Sabrina said with a sigh.

Puck shrugged. "I guess."

And that was the end of it.

* * *

They went off again. Sabrina lost track of how many battles she fought, how often she ended up with a minor injury, where she went, who she fought with or against, everything. It was a very long, cold winter. And she lost sight of the glory and what little fun she'd had in fighting very quickly. She was sick, tired, and ready for the war to be over.

The only good things were the times she got to spend with her friends. They laughed a lot, because they had to; had to remind themselves that they were still kids, and could still have fun and joke. She had a lot of fun watching Wendell and Bella be a couple again, and decided that she could even put up with her friend's teasing comments about double dates, and her less teasing ones about how Wendell was amazing, and she couldn't remember why she'd ever broken up with him in the first place (lie). She enjoyed watching Daphne and Art a lot less, but she realized that Art _was_ sorry, and that Daphne was almost eleven now, and old enough to decide who to befriend without help from a concerned big sister. As long as they didn't get together for a couple more years, anyway. Art might only be thirteen physically, so the age gap wasn't as much of a problem as it used to be, but they should both be bigger before they became a 'thing.'

She'd noticed that a lot of her friends were coupled up, actually. Mustardseed and Renee, Wendell and Bella, Peter and Wendy in a really awkward way, Annie and Marcus, Peaseblossom and Cricket, Jane and some Lost Boy or other, Will and Yvonne, Jonas and Eve... only Kaytee out of Sabrina's close friends seemed to still be single, and she'd been flirting on and off with another of the lost boys, so Sabrina doubted that would last much longer. Even Red was writing letters to someone.

By far the oddest of the new-forming relationships among the squads of the Emerald Foot was that of Tom Thumb and Tinkerbell. Nobody had seen it coming, but once it happened, several people commented on how perfect it seemed. Tom still hadn't joined the Emerald Foot officially, but he was there more often than he was with anyone in the Hand. He said that it was because they at least had a house of sorts, while the Scarlet Hand had been reduced to living in the remains of the crushed and burnt downtown area, when they weren't scavenging for food, but Sabrina suspected that it had as much to do with his girlfriend as anything.

She mentioned the onslaught of couples to Puck, one day.

"Huh," he said, when she'd pointed it out. They were both off-duty, their squads back at the chicken house, and they were sitting on the roof together, talking. "You're right, I guess. There aren't many single people left."

"Maybe we should join them?" Sabrina suggested tentatively.

Puck blinked at her for a second, then burst out laughing. His laughter got stronger and louder, until he was rolling around on the roof, one hand on his stomach and the other over his eyes, kicking his feet at the idea.

It took him a long time to realize Sabrina wasn't laughing with him. But when he did, and got control of himself, he sat up and looked at her. "Were you serious?" he asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "Well, I just thought... but never mind, it's no big deal."

"No, wait," Puck said, peering at her. "You seriously want to tell people we're dating?"

"Well, yeah, kind of," Sabrina muttered, not looking at Puck. "I mean, we've been dating for half a year now, so we can lord that over their heads if they get all 'I knew it!' and stuff, and... well, I see everyone else holding hands in public and stuff, and... I love sneaking, you know I do. I'm good at it. But I'm tired of keeping this a secret, anymore."

Puck said nothing for a minute, and Sabrina shook her head, muttering, "Forget it. It was a stupid idea."

"No, no, it's not that," Puck said. "It took me by surprise, but... I'm just thinking, is all."

"All right...?" Sabrina said, waiting for more explanation impatiently (the way Sabrina waited for everything, of course).

"Let's." Puck said, grinning at her. "But let's not make an announcement or anything. Let's just act like it's totally normal."

Sabrina's grin grew slowly, and then she pecked him on the lips, saying, "Sounds like a plan."

They headed back to the inside of the house at that, holding hands, determined to not react to the surprise of any of the thirty-five-odd people that were stationed in the chicken house.

The reaction was just as funny as Puck had hoped, with everyone staring intently at Puck and Sabrina, some openly gaping, while Sabrina just said, "What? What are you all looking at?"

Bella was the only one in the room to not be dumbstruck, because, of course, she'd known already. She grinned slyly at Puck and Sabrina, and then went back to organizing a shelf of medicines.

"But- how? What- When-" was the general idea of what Sabrina heard.

Eventually, Puck couldn't hold it together anymore, and he gave of some muffled laughter, then he was exploding in laughter again. Sabrina rolled her eyes and let go of his hand so he could roll on the floor again.

"We've been dating for a while," Sabrina explained matter-of-fact-ly to the staring people, "And we're just messing with you. Sorry."

It wasn't that simple, of course. And it took everyone a long time to adjust to the new situation- even Puck and Sabrina, who often forgot that they could act like a couple in front of everyone else (not helped by the fact that they were together so rarely)- but eventually, Puck and Sabrina spent most of their time together that they weren't bickering holding hands, and everyone else didn't stare at them too much.

It was March, and everything was still deeply frozen, with no signs of a thaw coming any time soon, when the Sabrina saw her parents for the first time in months.

She hadn't realized how much she missed them until they were there, she'd been so busy, but she and Daphne, who were both at the chicken house then, spent a long time just hugging their parents before they could finally explain what they were doing there.

"Kids, nice as it is to see you, we wouldn't be here," Veronica said, "Except that we need your help."

"What is it?" Sabrina asked.

"We've gotten some intelligence," Henry started tensely, "and it sounds like the Scarlet Hand are desperate. Really desperate. So desperate that they're gathering to march on the Fort."

Sabrina and Daphne both stared at their parents and then started giving them a barrage of questions.

"Calm down," Veronica said, putting her hands forward and waving them a bit in the direction of her daughters. "We don't know many details, but they'll probably be there in about a week. So we're trying to prepare by pulling everyone back to the Fort, since we know they're coming. If you can get everyone you're working with there within a week? Because we'll need all the help we can get."

Sabrina and Daphne looked at each other and nodded, and then looked at their parents as Daphne said, "We'll be there."


	126. Endings

**AN~ And we have reached the CLIMAX! Isn't this exciting? I'm not sure what I'll do when this is over.  
**

QotU: Pick a number between one and ten. Pick a mammal. Pick a food. Pick a place. Name someone Freida. Make a story using all those things. Most creative one wins.

**Previous QotD winner: jdr ride and Kida because Kida.  
**

**Review Replies:  
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**_juliet: _Why does Daphne disappoint you?  
**

**_puckabrinaluva:_ I can't, either. It's so sudden! I thought I had more left!  
**

* * *

The kids had been back at the Fort for a while, and now the Hand was finally coming.

Sabrina was standing on the wall of the fort, watching them appear out of the trees that surrounded the wide clear space around the fort, Puck on one side, her mother on the other. Most of the soldiers were lined up on the wall, waiting.

It wasn't until the first dragon showed up that Sabrina started to get a little worried.

And it wasn't until the third dragon, carrying a troll, showed up, that she started to get _really_ worried.

She must have showed her feelings somehow, because Puck looked at her slantwise, squeezed her hand, and said softly, "We can do it."

"I know," Sabrina whispered, "but how much will it cost?"

"We'll be all right," Veronica said, smiling at Sabrina. "We always are."

Veronica had taken the news of Sabrina and Puck's relationship best out of the family, even better than Granny, in that she'd just acted like it was a matter-of-fact occurrence instead of making a fuss like everyone else. But they'd all settled down about it eventually.

Sabrina was saved from answering her mom by a shout from someone on the empty space below the fort.

"_Charge_!" it rang out, echoing off everything into a second of silence.

The silence ended in a roar from all the Scarlet Hand, and they poured forward, more and more coming out of the trees and toward the fort.

Snow's voice called over the roar of the Hand, saying, "Airborne, take off!"

The Airborne group was anyone with wings, most of them mounted on pegasi, some flying on their own. Nobody without wings was allowed a pegasus, because flight fighting was hard enough without worrying that you'd slip and fall off your horse. Sabrina and Puck were part of the Airborne unit, though they didn't have horses.

They took off, a cloud of fairies and birds and pixies and things, some on pegasi, some on their own. From far away, they probably looked like a swarm of bugs. Very large bugs.

As soon as the Airborne took off, the dragons went after them, which was largely the point. The Airborne's job was to keep anything from making it over the fort's walls and into the town inside.

Sabrina and Puck, along with several others, started going after a yellow dragon with green racing stripes running lengthwise down its fifty-foot-long body, attacking the eyes and the underbelly, where they could actually do damage.

Sabrina's ears heard Snow calling for the long-range defense to pick up, though she didn't pay much attention to it, as she was too busy trying to stab a dragon in the eye and avoid its teeth.

She did start to pay attention when she was almost hit by a fast-moving jet of water that sprayed into the dragon's mouth, putting out the flickers of flame that were appearing between its teeth and sending forth a thick, burining, blinding spray of steam.

The dragon fell to the ground, crushing some members of the Hand as it landed, and Sabrina backpedaled quickly to avoid the steam, wary of burns.

"Watch it, will ya?" She called to the person manning the water tower- Red. "That stuff is dangerous!"

She could see Red's blush even from thirty yards away as she called, almost loud enough to be heard, "Sorry!"

Sabrina just turned back and looked for another opponent to fight.

There was another dragon nearby, a purple one whose scales faded into deep dark black at the edges, being fought and winning against Mustardseed and his pegasus. She sped over to help them.

She slashed and stabbed and dodged and ducked and kicked and punched at the purple dragon's neck for what felt like forever, and she had a thought that it was probably a bad idea for dragons' underbellies to be so soft, because it was easier for archers to get at them from the ground that way. Even if an arrow was about as painful as a splinter to a dragon.

That dragon, too, fell eventually, but it was much harder because Red and her water tower never hit it, so it had its flame until it died.

She and Puck flew together for a second, staring at the battle around them, and Puck said, "It's a shame."

"What is?" Sabrina asked.

"That all the dragons are on their side," Puck elaborated. "We're going to have to kill them all. And I just hate to see that. I mean, dragons are awesome!"

"Yeah, I guess it is kind of sad," Sabrina agreed, pulling Puck down fast, "but let's worry about it later, okay? Maybe there'll be some eggs left after, and you can have a pet or something."

"That would be so awesome!" Puck raved.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, because he hadn't even noticed her pulling him out of the way of a fireball. "Don't get too excited, we're in the middle of something."

He nodded, and dodged another fireball, going up while Sabrina went left.

She lost track of him in the chaos, and glanced down at the ground. About a quarter of the Emerald Foot soldiers had left the fort and were fighting on the ground- it looked messy and dangerous. Her parents were down there. She knew because she saw them fighting back to back against something enormous, green, and slimy. She wished she could go down to help them, but her job was to stay in the air. And Basil was in the fort. If she ran away from her post, it could mean that she helped her parents (who were perfectly able to take care of themselves, even if she didn't want to admit it) and lost her brother in the process.

She returned to fighting, this time going up against a cloud of pixies that were beelining their way to the fort unnoticed by the Emerald Foot Airborne, who were more concerned with dragons than pixies.

She discovered that, while pixies were smaller than dragons, they were no less dangerous. She'd already known that they had painful bites, but she'd never gone up against a swarm of them trying to fight before, and none of her training had prepared her for it. A few got past her and began boring away at the wood of the Fort's walls before she smashed them with a wave of gravity so strong they were no more than little blots on the damaged wall. She was more careful after that.

It was impossible to fight these nasty pixies without magic. There were too many of them, and they were too small. One would make it past her while she was pinching another, and three more would zoom attack her while she was catching that one. There were too many for her to control all their gravities at once, and none of her other abilities would be much use against them.

She held her ground against them for a while, feeling like she was draining a boat with a sieve the whole time, until Tinker Bell appeared, backed up by about fifty Sprites, who began battling the pixies one-on-one.

After the sprites worked the pixies off of Sabrina, she flew off, wishing she had time to massage the hundreds of red welts forming on her body. She was almost burned, because she lost track of where she was going and a jet of flame shot past her towards the fort, met in midair by Red's water tower- or the second tower, she wasn't sure.

"Careful!" Ariel called to her, grinning as he stabbed the dragon who'd almost torched her in the throat and dragged down, towards its stomach. A rain of acidic blood fell on those fighting below.

Sabrina winced and turned away from the dying dragon, hoping no one she liked got crushed when it fell.

Around then, she went into what Bella had dubbed her 'battle mode,' where she lost track of who she was fighting or what she did, attacking and defending and dodging mechanically, faster than she'd have been able to otherwise, probably, if she'd been actually thinking. She probably killed several things, and she definitely injured a lot. She was hurt herself a few times, though nothing major- a burn on her left foot, incinerating one of her favorite shoes and the bottom of her leggings but leaving her foot intact; a gash on her ribcage that hit the bone but didn't break it; a chunk of hair and feathers missing on her right side; several small cuts and bruises and scrapes and burns.

Puck guided her back to the fort during a lull in the battle to eat a hoagie; she didn't realize how hungry she was, or even where she was, until the sandwich was in her hands. She scarfed it down, chugged a bottle of water, and then went back to the battle.

At one point in time, she noticed Puck flying off in pursuit of a group of three dragons who were wounded but not dead, and she spared a moment's thought to hope he didn't get himself killed before she went back to fighting a demonic-looking gray pegasus with black eyes.

It grew dark, and the fighting continued, the battle lit by pixies and dragon fire, for the most part. People disappeared and reappeared, and the jets of water stopped for a while- the dragon fire grew stronger. Sabrina went back to the fort and fell asleep for a few hours, after she almost fell out of the sky when she dozed off suddenly.

Nurse Spratt had bandaged her worst injuries while she slept, and when she woke, she was deemed fit to fight more. It was still dark. She ate another sandwich and drank a cup of disgusting, bitter coffee full of grounds before going back to fight again.

It went on like that for another day. Neither side made much headway. Sabrina felt like her whole life was this battle; like there was nothing more than fight, win, look for another enemy, fight again, and hope you didn't get killed.

Puck reappeared, a number of lumps in his sweatshirt pockets. Sabrina hoped they weren't what she thought they were, gave him a quick kiss, and dashed off after a fairy that was speeding for Red on her water tower- refilled and wet, ready to take down dragons again.

She was fighting yet another dragon- where did they keep _coming_ from?- when Daphne's shriek, louder than anything she'd ever heard before, rang through the clearing. Everyone froze and turned to stare. There was quiet for the first time in forever, it felt like, and Sabrina could hear the beating of wings, the rustling of people moving, against the roar in her ears and the echo of the battle.

Daphne stood on a tall tree branch on the edge of the clearing, her bare feet, more bird than human, clinging to the branch. Tears ran down her face, and she held a sparking wand in her right hand, raised to the lightening sky as the sun broke through the trees across the clearing from her.

"Stop!" she said again, less of a shout but still loud enough that everyone could hear her. A sob caught in her throat. "Don't you see what you're doing to each other?" She paused, then said, "You're killing your families! Your friends! Beast, that's you wife! You almost killed her! Mr. and Mrs. Amphibian, your daughter is in that fort you're trying to destroy, and she's trying to save people you've just hurt! Cricket, that's your _mom_! All of you, you're attacking people you've known for hundreds of years! A lot of them used to be your friends! How can you... How can you _do_ that?"

There was a roar from the ground, a response, probably.

"I. Don't. _Care_!" Daphne screeched over them. "I don't care anymore! I'm tired of this! Tired of fighting! Tired of killing! It's not worth it! Nothing's worth it anymore! I can't... I can't! And I can't stand by and watch you, either!"

There was another roar, this one quieter, and one voice shouted over the rest, loud enough that Sabrina could make it out, "But I want to be free! I've been trapped here for centuries! I want out!"

"Fine!" Sabrina shouted back, surprising herself. Everyone looked at her, now, and she flushed, but repeated, "Fine! You can get out! I can control the barrier. I can let you out." She flew over to her sister and said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "But Daphne's right. This has to stop."

Granny Relda, on the ground, was saying suddenly, "The girls have a point. Perhaps if your leaders and ours could meet in the Fort, we could reach a treaty?"

There was a disapproving roar, and Heart's voice called out, "Not in your territory! You could kill us!"

Sabrina refrained from pointing out that that's what everyone had been doing for the past two days.

"Here, then," Snow suggested. "We'll meet here, and discuss."

This time the response was a mutter, and Sabrina assumed it was an acceptance, because she saw people laying down their weapons.

And that was the end of the Everafter War.


	127. Epilogue: Beginnings

**AN~ You should all go back and check out the first chapter, I've put in a prologue.**

**Review Replies:**

**_BananaCop: _Well, that's the only QotD response I've gotten, but you didn't respond to the story at all, so I'm not sure if I should disqualify you or not...**

**_Guest: _Well, sort of. THIS is the ending.**

**_Shan: _This is the last one, unfortunately. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though!**

* * *

_And that was the end of the Everafter War._

It wasn't that simple, of course.

By the time they'd all finished with their big summit about what to give and what nobody would budge on, Sabrina had agreed to fix the barrier so that people could get out- but only if they didn't want to hurt anyone outside the barrier. And Snow had suggested that they be required to check in once a year, to make sure nothing had changed. Granny suggested another change to the barrier: only those who knew about Everafters would be allowed in, so that it was actually a haven for Everafters, and the thing that had caused problems from the first- humans pushing Everafters out- wouldn't happen again. Because of the train, though, they compromised on that saying that those who were interested in moving to the town wouldn't be allowed entry.

Sabrina stopped paying attention after that. But she knew that peace had been made, eventually. Almost everyone had agreed to it, even those who would need to be punished for their war crimes.

That was almost everyone, it turned out. Very few people hadn't destroyed something or killed someone or hurt them, and in the months that followed, a court was set up which tried them all and set up reparations. Most people were given public service- rebuilding. No one was given the death penalty. Everyone had had enough of killing.

It took them months to catch Mirror, and even he wasn't destroyed. He was given a new body, of sorts, and left to rot in jail for ten years for every crime he'd committed- he wouldn't be let loose, even on parole, for at least two centuries.

The school picked back up, but since the town was trying to make itself as much a part of the real world as possible, it was decided that those over fourteen would go to the district high school two towns over. The elementary and middle school children would stay in Ferryport Landing.

Sabrina's changing of the barrier was the last thing she was able to do with it. After that, the expanded barrier was stuck- she was still aware of it, in the back of her mind, but she couldn't change it, or create a new one. Morgan Le Faye declared her stable- an Everafter with all her powers, and no more big changes to her body other than puberty coming her way.

The rebuilding process was long, and the greenery was the first thing to come back, courtesy of Daphne. Most people lived in the Fort or the Grimm house until their homes were finished. And homes were last. Businesses and such were rebuilt first.

Still, most of Sabrina's friends were housed in under a year, and the study group, which was still going strong even though the high school that several of them attended now was mostly review work, could be housed at more places than just the Grimm house.

It was Christmas Eve the year after before Sabrina went to visit Mirror in his prison.

He was sitting in a corner of the cell, curled up on himself, doing nothing, when she arrived. He didn't notice her until she cleared her throat loudly.

"Hello," he said, giving her a dry laugh. "Come to gloat? You have every right to, you know." He looked around and, with a half-smile, said, "I've traded one prison cell for another, it seems."

Sabrina didn't respond to that, though the words _you deserve it _were itching in her throat. Instead she asked, "Why'd you do it?"

"Why do you care?" Mirror asked.

"Because you were my first friend in this town," Sabrina said, "Or I thought you were. And because I want to understand."

"Because I was trapped and treated like I wasn't a person," Mirror said angrily, "Because my mother never loved me. Because I had to take my chance while I could. Because I needed to touch the world, not just see it."

Sabrina was silent for a time. She understood. She didn't want to, but she'd come for an explanation, and the one she'd gotten made sense. "Why my family, though?" she exploded finally. "You waited for centuries, couldn't you wait until you had another jerk owner instead of someone who was actually trying to make life better for you?"

Mirror sighed and said, "I don't expect you to understand, Sabrina, but I promise I never wanted to hurt you. I was... desperate."

"Yeah, that's obvious," Sabrina muttered.

"Would an apology help?" Mirror asked.

"Would you mean it?" Sabrina returned.

"Yes," Mirror said.

"Then it helps a little," Sabrina said. "Not enough that I can forgive you, but enough that you won't keep me up at night anymore."

"I _am_ sorry," Mirror said. "Not for everything, but for hurting you."

"I know," Sabrina said softly. "And I'm sorry you felt like you had to, but that doesn't make it okay." She turned to leave.

"Come visit me again?" Mirror asked, and his voice was so pitiful that she nodded, not looking at him.

She hoped he'd notice the wrapped present outside his cell- a stack of word puzzle books and a pack of mechanical pencils.

Halfway home, it started snowing. Not a blizzard, thankfully, but the snow was heavy enough that she landed and walked the rest of the way home, afraid to get lost in the blizzard if she stayed in the sky.

"Where have you been?" Puck asked as she pushed through the front door half an hour later, shivering- she hadn't been dressed for a snowstorm.

"Out for a walk," Sabrina said vaguely. She didn't think Puck would understand if she told him where she'd been.

"Well, you'd better get changed," he said, accepting her answer with an unconvinced look on his face. "We're going to that Christmas service again, and the Old Lady said nice clothes."

"That why you're wearing clean pants?" Sabrina asked, looking her boyfriend up and down. His blue jeans actually fit, were reasonably stain-free, and had no holes in them. His sweatshirt, on the other hand, was a wreck.

"Yup," Puck said, flashing a crooked grin at her.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and headed upstairs to get changed. As she walked away, she heard Granny scolding Puck for his choice in shirts.

She changed into a pair of nice pants and a warm red sweater, pulling a white and green scarf underneath her hair for a final touch.

Downstairs, Puck was wearing a button-down shirt under a different dirty hoodie, with a tie wrapped around his neck- untied. Sabrina rolled her eyes, and would have tied the tie if she'd known how. Instead she just kissed him on the cheek with an affectionate, "Idiot."

"Come on, everyone, it's time to go!" Veronica called from the doorway, slipping her arms through the sleeves of her jacket as she shouted.

They piled out the door, and Sabrina shivered. The wind had picked up, and it was snowing harder than when she'd come in, so her sweater wasn't warm enough. She burrowed her face down into her scarf and looked warily at the walk to the driveway. She did _not_ want to leave the safety of the porch.

"Maybe we should... not go," Red suggested."

"But I want to see everyone!" Daphne complained. "Blue will be there, Red! Come on!"

"I think Red has a point," Henry said, checking his smartphone- a birthday present from his kids- "It looks like it's just going to get worse, and there's no food at Friar Tuck's church."

"Or much heat," Sabrina added, pushing herself up against Puck's chest, her hands tucked into her armpits.

Daphne pouted and said, "But..."

"We might not even get there, sweetie," Veronica said, hugging Daphne around the shoulder. "The roads will be really bad in this weather."

Daphne collapsed with a sigh and said, "Fine."

Everyone filed back through the door. Basil, the last one through, slammed it shut with gusto, shutting out the whistling of the wind with a bang.

"So... what do we do now?" Puck asked. "And does this mean I can get changed?"

"How about we bake?" Granny suggested. There was a chorus of agreement in various degrees of excitement, and she smiled. "I'll make some hot drinks, then, and we'll get started."

Everyone scattered. Sabrina went up to her room and changed into sweatpants- she left the sweater on, though. The house was warmer than outside, but still cold, and the red sweater was warm. When she got back downstairs, the place was transformed. Uncle Jake had put on some Christmas music in the kitchen, Henry was building a fire in the fireplace, the table was loaded with hot drinks and the remains of cookies that had been made in the days before, Veronica was reading Basil, who had to go to bed soon, a story from a big red book with Santa on the cover, and "A Christmas Carol" was playing on the TV. It was insane Christmas-y in the downstairs of the Grimm house, full of the smells of the season as well as the sights and sounds.

Sabrina joined Granny in the kitchen, where Daphne and Briar, who was looking quite pregnant, with a baby due very very soon, were already helping her bake something or other.

She helped make cookies too, for a while, and then when the kitchen got too crowded with Veronica's entrance after Basil was asleep, she joined Bella and Red at the TV, watching Rudolph with a mug of something that tasted of cinnamon and peppermint. They stayed up late watching Christmas movies and eating fresh hot cookies of all different sorts, joined by other family members one by one, in a living room lit by lights on the tree and the fireplace, and Sabrina was content. Her adventures were over. She wasn't the same person she'd been, but she was happy with who she was now, for the most part. Life was good.

She must have fallen asleep on the couch, because the next thought she had was 'why is she screaming?' as she jolted upright.

'She,' was Briar, shrieking loudly in the dark living room, intense shadows on her face, and other shadowy figures bustling around. Bella was directing people in a firm, no-nonsense voice, and then the lights flickered on. Sabrina looked at Puck and Daphne, both leaning on her, and shoved them off herself to stand, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Puck woke up when he crashed against Daphne, his girlfriend gone. Daphne kept snoring away. "What's going on?" he asked, as confused as Sabrina.

"Briar's in labor!" Jake wailed, sounding hysterical.

"What do I do?" Sabrina asked, directing her question at Bella and not Jake.

"Nothing!" Bella said, "Take Jake and get him someplace he can calm down!"

Sabrina complied, leading her struggling uncle out of the living room and into the kitchen with Puck's help. The kitchen wasn't the best place, though, because in there Granny and Henry were filling up pots of water and gathering rags and scissors. Sabrina and Puck took Uncle Jake onto the porch.

It was still snowing hard, and the drifted snow was now over the edge of the porch , so that she couldn't tell where the porch-snow started and the ground-snow stopped in some spots. The rest of the snow looked about a foot deep, from what she could see of it. Her vision was obscured about twenty feet away by the snow.

Her study of the landscape was interrupted by a 'whump' that she could hear over the howling wind, and she turned to see Puck, arms outstretched, starting to laugh over Uncle Jake, who had fallen in the snow- pushed.

Sabrina gave him a disapproving look, and he asked, "What? I was trying to get him to calm down and stop being hysterical! And I think it worked!"

Uncle Jake picked himself up from the snow, and, brushing it off his front, said dryly, "Next time, let me stay hysterical, okay?"

"Sorry," Puck said with a shrug, not sounding sorry at all.

They waited out there in the cold and the blowing snow, huddling on the side of the wraparound porch that was away from the wind, where the snow was only two inches deep in some places, until Red came around, shivering in her nightgown and fuzzy slippers, to tell them, "She's done."

Uncle Jake was off like a shot, scrambling for the door with his arms and legs going in every direction. Sabrina, Puck, and Red followed more slowly.

"Congratulations, Red," Sabrina said, giving the smaller girl a smile. "You're a big sister."

"Thanks," Red said shyly. "I'm scared."

"How come?" Sabrina asked.

"I'm worried I'm not going to be a good big sister," Red whispered. "And I know I won't be as good as you."

Touched, Sabrina gave Red a one-armed hug as they walked and said, "You'll do great, Red. I know it."

"Thanks," Red said with a quiet smile.

Inside, they walked in on the end of a baby-name discussion. "How about 'Noel'?" Briar was saying. "Since she was born on Christmas?"

"I like it," Jake agreed, hugging his wife and smiling down at their baby girl.

Red came over and hugged them all, and Jake wrapped his free arm around his adopted daughter. "What do you think of the name, sweetie?" he asked. Red nodded, and he grinned. "Noel it is, then."

There was a moment of silence, and then Daphne, who was awake now, shrieked, "Holy crap it's Christmas! Mom, can I go wake Basil up and we'll open presents? Please please please?"

Henry and Veronica shared a look, and then Veronica nodded and said, "Go ahead, Daphne."

With a gleeful yell, Daphne went running up the stairs. Sabrina, watching her, noticed as her sister passed the clock, that it was only Christmas by about four hours. She didn't say anything, though.

Daphne came down minutes later, a sleepy five-year-old in tow, and there was a mad dash for the presents.

Once Puck had opened his share of the loot, he walked over to take a look at Baby Noel, and said loudly, "Man, babies are _ugly_."

He'd said the same thing when Peaseblossom had her little boy, Kale, three months ago. Sabrina rolled her eyes and ignored him, but no one else did. Daphne, in particular, ran up to him and smacked him with a book she'd gotten, shouting about how rude that was and wrong and-

Sabrina tuned her sister out as a full-fledged brawl began to develop and parents went in to intervene while Briar backed away, holding Noel protectively. Sabrina recalled what she'd thought earlier, about how her adventures were over. She laughed a little. How wrong she was! But... maybe she was all right with that.

As the wind pelted snow against the still-dark window, Sabrina decided that her life had plenty of adventures to come. She was a fairy tale detective, after all. Grimms would always have things to do. Life would be a mess of chaos. And, somehow, after everything she'd been through, that was exactly the way she wanted it.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," she said quietly, and she smiled.

* * *

**Well, that's the end, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the journey, I know I have.**

**Now I want to embark on this super duper huge task of thanking everyone, because at the end of this we have:  
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**I don't know how to make this up to any of you, and I'm not going to list everyone who reviewed because that's just insane, but I just want to say THANK YOU ALL. So much. You've been through a lot of my life with me, and I've made so many friends through this story. So... Thank you.  
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**See you in other stories!  
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**-Curlscat**


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